Naruto : Remnants of the Past
by NXSE
Summary: Naruto, the little brother of Madara and Izuna. How does his existence flip the timeline and what secrets do his past hide. How he ends up falling for the Uzumaki heiress who falls for him too. How Naruto and Madara would have been together had they been siblings. All that and much more.
1. Chapter 1

**Naruto : Remnants of the Past**

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 **Summary : Naruto, a blonde haired, baby blue eyed boy born into the Uchiha clan** **'s head family alongside his elder brothers, Izuna and Madara. What did his past childhood memories hold, what does his future await? How has his mere presence in a different time-line changed the outcomes?**

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 **Let's see what story awaits us this time…**

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Two figures stepped out of a boat as it made port on the shore. The boatman looked at the two figures expectantly while his eyes tried but failed miserably to hide the nervousness and fright he felt right at that moment. It wasn't his fault, almost anyone who valued his life would have been scared knowing who it was he had transported and still had the gall to expect money for the services he provided.

The first figure, clad in a red battle armor wore a black high collared kimono short underneath with matching black pants and shinobi sandals. His hands covered with gloves with a gunbai tied across his back. The belt across his waist held several pouches and weapons tied to them, showed how ready he was to battle if need be. His waist length unruly black hair, holding shoulder length bangs framing his face with the left one hiding his onyx eye. His face held a stony and stoic expression on his face, while his mere presence radiated an aura of power like none other.

He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at the boatman who shrunk and whimpered under his intense gaze. The poor man's eyes turned pleadingly to the second figure by his side. Unlike his travel partner, he didn't look like he was armed to the teeth and ready to rush in a war if need be. He wore a simple white kimono shirt, slightly open near a fourth of his chest exposed showing his lean and kill-for physique. His loose sleeves covering his arms up to his hands, one of which had bandages covering it till his elbow. His blue pants with matching shinobi sandals had a simple shuriken and kunai holster strapped across his left thigh and his belt held a small hip pouch along with a sword in a jet black sheathe, it's hilt adorning the classic Uchiha clan symbol that matched the one he had embossed in a small embroidery near the back of his neck to proudly show his clan affiliations.

Though it was his face that made him completely different from his counterpart partner. His soft baby blue eyes held such warmth and compassion in them that it drew it's attention from anyone who gazed into them. His fair white skin, scar-less across his face and his narrow jawline gave him looks that made girls swoon with his eye length bangs waving in the wind showing how silky they were while he ran a hand across them. His lips held a soft smile over them that made the boatman smile himself when he gazed at the man in front of him.

The blonde ran his hand in his hip pouch and took out a couple of small gold coins from them. He tossed them to the boatman who caught them and gave him a grateful smile and bow of his head. He could have just walked away without bothering to pay the man and the boatman wouldn't have been stupid enough to call back the man to pay for his services. The paddle of the boat was pulled by the boatman who made his way back through the waters and waved at the waving and smiling blonde back with a happy smile.

The blonde in question saw his partner walking away from him and ran a little to catch up with his partner, who merely kept a constant pace towards the destination they were headed for. Both walked in a calm and comfortable silence for a couple of minutes before the raven haired man broke it.

"We could have just walked away and be done with it without paying the boatman." his stoic voice stated factually. The blonde in question narrowed his eyes at his counterpart in an accusative glare who didn't even turn to glance at him.

"That would have been wrong, he was nice enough to bring us to our destination when you scared off almost everyone back at the ports of Fire country Madara-Nii." his soft melodic voice stated accusingly while the man just gave a grunt of annoyance in return.

"It wasn't my mistake those cowards couldn't even stand up to the sight of my gaze. I did let you do all the negotiations, didn't I?" he said in a matter of fact tone making the blonde snort indignantly.

"Hmph right, that was why I caught you glaring at the first two boatmen with your Sharingan active, didn't I?" he asked accusingly and the raven haired man said nothing. It was true, those annoying men were asking for too much and his brother was talking to them as if he was giving into them. They would have learnt their place had his brother not been too soft with them like he always was. They walked in silence with the the man now recognized as Madara keeping his eyes straight at the path ahead of them. The blonde on the other hand was looking at the surroundings all around them with a childlike innocence.

Madara couldn't help but smile at the childlike innocence his brother still held even after all he had been through in his life. For a moment he forgot he was with a nineteen-year-old boy and not the five-year-old he always behaved like. He saw his brother throw an apple to the baboon on a tree from afar who caught it and hooted happily for the treat making the blonde grin happily.

Madara shook his head in amusement at the antics of his little brother and returned his gaze to the path ahead of them. His eyes narrowed when he saw the little ruffling of trees to his left. He glanced to the blonde by his side who walked oblivious to the danger around them, though Madara did notice the slight twitch in his finger on his left hand. He smirked a little at how much his brother had grown from the little troublemaker he used to be. Madara's eyes caught sight of the humongous walls in front of them when twenty blurs rushed out of the trees.

Both travelers stopped instantly and gazed at the glaring red heads in front of them with a calm expression. None of them felt even the slightest bit worried when the redhead in front of them stepped forward, they recognized him to be the leader of the small contingent of shinobi who stood on guard to deal with the two threats if need be.

"You have entered the grounds surrounding Uzushiogakure no sato. State your identifications." he barked out in a commanding tone. Madara just stared at him blankly as if he was stupid while the blonde was still smiling happily as if he wasn't surrounded by a small battalion of armed shinobi.

"Madara Uchiha." the raven's stoic voice ran through the clearing and he smirked watching them all stiffen as they eyed the man nervously. The leader turned his eyes to the softly smiling blonde and stated the same question as before.

"Naruto Uchiha." he chirped happily like he was on a field trip and once again all of them stiffened and glanced at each other nervously. The leader turned his gaze back to the elder brother of the two.

"State your purpose for entering our village's perimeter." he said and Madara crossed his arms and smirked yet again when he saw them all look at him like frightened rabbits at his small movement.

"I believe we were to be expected by your village's leader for a diplomatic meeting." he stated stoically with a hint of annoyance in his tone and the leader nodded, his nervousness fading.

"So, you are the two who are here from Konohagakure no sato?" he asked in relief and Madara gave a curt nod. The leader nodded and motioned for his people to stand down as they lowered their weapons and dropped their guards. The leader turned to the two as all except the leader and five more scattered into the trees surrounding them.

"Please follow us, we'll take you to the village." he spoke in his usual commanding voice. The two Uchiha's nodded and followed the six who surrounded them from all sides and led them to the entry gates of their village. Naruto had to let out a whistle as he watched the huge walls in front of him. They weren't as thick as the walls surrounding their own but the intricate seals embossed all over them showed how reinforced they were using the village's contemporary shinobi skill.

The leader chuckled seeing the blonde's childlike star-struck expression. The blonde rubbed his head sheepishly making Madara sigh. His brother was really too laid back for his own good sometimes.

Naruto smiled as his eyes took in the new village when they entered the walls surrounding the lively grounds. The building were all cylindrical and painted in various different colors. The village looked so colorful and full of life he thought, when he saw some laughing and happy red haired children run circles around him before heading off in the streets.

The six escorts walking the two Uchiha's stopped suddenly making the two companions look at them with curiosity.

"I'm sorry but we can allow only one of you to meet our village leader. So which one of you shall be the one?" their leader asked making the two nod. They both knew letting the two of them in the same office as their leader wasn't safe so they were splitting them up. Both respected their choice and Madara spoke up.

"I shall." he stated stoically and they nodded, already figuring as much.

"Why not me?" asked Naruto with a pout making Madara sigh. The six around the chuckled at the pouting blonde and the blankly staring Uchiha.

"You will stay in the village and look around while I do the talking." he stated in a tone leaving no room for arguments. He saw the small smile still present on his little brother's face and spoke up already figuring out his thoughts from experience.

"And no pranks." he said like he was talking to a little child. The blonde crossed his arms with another pout of his lips.

"Kill-joy." he grumbled before walking away with slumped shoulders as if he was sulking, when he saw him kick a rock tiredly. Madara rubbed his temples from the oncoming headache of having his brother to deal with and walked to the village's central tower with six highly amused shinobi escorting him. Naruto walked with his hands tucked in his pockets. He ignored the whispering girls who were pointing and giggling at him. He took in the sights before his nose picked up a scent that flared his nostrils as well as the hunger that came along with a long trip with just food pills and rice-balls.

His gaze landed on a stand and he took the curtains aside, walking in and taking a stool. He saw a middle aged man boiling noodles who turned to him with a warm smile.

"What will you have today young man?" he asked warmly making Naruto smile and look at the menu. He hadn't heard of these dishes before and pointed to the first dish on the menu.

"I'll have the miso ramen!" he chirped happily and the man smile knowing he hadn't tasted ramen in his life.

"So are you new here?" the cook asked boiling the noodles while Naruto looked at the heavenly looking noodles and broth longingly.

"Hai!" he chirped up making the man chuckle at his hungry gaze. Naruto heard soft footsteps from behind him and felt a pointed blade placed at the back of his neck just as the cook placed the bowl in front of him. He grinned an broke off the chopsticks happily, ignoring the blade. He was too hungry to care and the smell from the bowl was heavenly.

"Itadakimatsu!" he chirped up and started slurping down the noodles in a slow and elegant manner, letting out moans of delight from the taste. He slurped the noodles and smiled at the completely baffled cook in front of him.

"This is great Ojii-san! Best food I have ever had!" he chirped happily making the man smile nervously and looking at the blonde incredulously.

"Uhm…thanks." the cook chuckled nervously at the oblivious blonde when he felt the pressure from the blade on his neck increase making him stop midway for a moment before he slurped up the noodles slowly.

"You know if you are going to stab me then do it or let me eat peacefully. It is annoying to be disturbed while eating something so delicious." he spoke calmly making the blade slide across his shoulder and press along the side of his neck.

"Step out." a melodic female voice commanded making him sigh and look at the bowl that was getting wasted, longingly. It was such a waste to throw away this magical dish.

"Can't I finish my lunch first?" he asked in a childish manner making the pressure of the blade increase on his neck.

"Step out of the stand." the melodic voice commanded again and Naruto sighed. He took one last sad glance at the bowl and placed the money on the table before stepping out.

"The food was great Ojii-san, I'll see you soon!" he spoke happily making the man smile at the happy blonde and nod. He liked the kid, he wished he would live longer too. Naruto stepped out slowly not turning around and stood in the middle of the street with his back to the person holding a blade on his neck.

"Turn around." the voice commanded and Naruto did as he was told and his eyes widened slightly when he took in the sight of his abductor. For the first time in his life he was happy to be abducted.

Apparently, the voice did belong to a female, and a beautiful one at that. He saw the narrowed violet eyes with nicely trimmed eyebrows showing her noble status. She was wearing a white kimono with red trimmings to match her crimson hair along with a green and golden obi, her clan symbol adorned on her back. Her hair was arranged in a couple of buns with hair pins in them and three clips in the front. She also wore a dark shade of red lipstick and had a rhombus on her forehead which accentuated her soft and fair skin. She also wore tags with kanji written on them in her hair decals. Her small and pouty pink lips didn't need the red lipstick adorning them but it did look amazing on her.

She held an air around her that showed she was of noble status. He hadn't seen such a beautiful girl in his life. He felt a small prick from the small wakizashi pressed on his neck and snapped his attention back to the fact that he was still being held hostage.

"Who are you and why do you wear the Uchiha clan's symbol on you?" she asked in her calm soft voice. He tilted his head to the side making her narrow her eyes and press her blade harder for emphasis.

"Well I do belong to the clan…" was all he was able to say before he jumped a step back to avoid his neck being slashed. His Sharingan blazed to life as his crimson eyes stared into the violet ones that now looked murderous. He couldn't, for the life of him understand what he had done to deserve this. He swore he hadn't seen her before, that beautiful hair color was unforgettable in his eyes.

He stepped a step to the right when a chakra chain whizzed past his ear and jumped back to avoid getting pierced by another. He back flipped when another one of those unique chains tried to skewer him from underground and unto his chin. He kept back flipping to avoid the numerous chains and slid to a stop when the attack stopped. He watched her calmly with a confused gaze making her even more angrier.

Her palms were outstretched and a couple of tags slid out from her sleeves and into her hands. He read the kanji for water in one of them and wind on the other. She channeled a little chakra into the tags and Naruto's Sharingan saw the newly formed vortex of water coming towards him. He stood up and held a half horse hand seal with his left hand and a half ram seal near his lips, breathing in air deeply.

" **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"** he exclaimed and shot out a narrow stream of flames that expanded in a contained fireball, so as to not damage any surroundings. Both attacks died down in a hiss of steam making him sigh.

"Can't we just talk this out peacefully…" he couldn't finish since he had to jump back to avoid being skewered with another chain. Naruto looked around and saw the scared civilians and children around him.

" _I have to take this somewhere else…"_ he thought and jumped on to a roof, taking off in a random direction.

"Come back here you coward!" he heard the girl shout and snorted in amusement. As if anyone would go willingly to get skewered by pointy chains, even if she was so pretty. He jumped through rooftops and saw her rip of her kimono with a kunai along her thighs for free movement. He frowned when he saw the expensive silk fall down on the ground.

"Such a waste…" he mumbled to himself about the loss of such a beautiful kimono. His eyes caught sight of her soft and milky thighs and the words died down in his throat.

"Nope, not a waste at all!" he chirped happily and rushed to the newly found training ground that caught his gaze, chuckling to himself. His chuckling only served to infuriate his pursuer even more and she doubled her efforts to rid the world of the blonde completely.

He landed in the middle of the training ground's clearing, not even winded and saw the girl land in front of him, unsheathing her sword.

"Can I know why I am being killed?" he asked curiously making the girl growl angrily.

"Because you're an Uchiha." she said in a low hiss making him raise an eyebrow. He chuckled nervously, rubbing his neck sheepishly making the girl's eye twitch.

"Actually, I was kidding. I'm a Senju!" he chirped happily and instantly ducked down to avoid his head being cleaved by her sword. He sighed at his failure tiredly.

"It was worth a try…" he mumbled and caught her incoming kick for his neck with his right hand quite effortlessly. His Sharingan glanced at the soft skin of her legs and brushed the inner part of her thigh with the back of his left hand's fingers. A moment later he rolled back and back flipped to dodge a vertical slash and a chakra chain respectively. He saw her glowering eyes and her cheeks that were now matching her hair quite nicely. He ran his hand on the fingers that had brushed her thigh with a smile.

" _They were so soft…"_ he thought happily and rose an eyebrow at the infuriated girl that now looked murderous.

"You bastard…" she hissed, flushed as she felt her thigh feel his touch. No one had ever touched her like that, and an Uchiha to top it off.

"Now now we can talk this out peacefully…" he tried calmly but had to block a kick to his head. He once again saw the back of her thigh and ran his right hand's fingers softly along it before she had flipped back. She rubbed her legs that felt so ticklish and glowered at the grinning blonde with a death glare.

She rushed ahead and he watched her come calmly, looking into her violet eyes with a warm expression. She stabbed her sword forward for his throat to which he merely tilted his head to the side and let it pass harmlessly to the left side of his ear. He pulled her kimono's loose sleeve a bit up and brushed her forearm with his right hand's fingers softly making her pull her sword back on instant and throw a punch for his nose. He brushed it to the side of his head simply and let it brush past his cheek to feel her arm on it. She was moving in slow motion for the speeds his eyes were used to dealing with.

She jumped back with her cheeks a new shade of red that made her look all the more adorable in his eyes. She was fuming on the inside, the bastard was playing with her and feeling her as he wanted at the same time!

She had to show him what happened to people who did that, she thought furiously. She rushed forward with a slash for his waist, which he anticipated eons earlier and rolled along it's path to reach her back and pulled off the four senbons holding her hair as pins. Her thigh length crimson locks fell free and he smiled as they flowed in the breeze.

She didn't give him time for respite and threw her kick to his chest which he caught easily again much to her annoyance and went ahead to punch his face in which breezed past his ear yet again. He wrapped his arm around her waist to keep her stumbling form standing as he had her thigh tucked under his arm. She now saw how compromising her position looked when she felt him tuck her hair behind her hair gently.

Their eyes met for but a moment, furious violets with warm baby blues before she pushed back to his chest with both her hands and jumped back to gain some distance. She saw his soft smile and fumed inwardly though her heart was beating wildly from all those intimate touches and that last position she was in.

" _He is just playing with me and is just breathing softly at that! And why the hell is he smiling at me like that!"_ she screamed inwardly though glared at him silently on the outside.

"You are as beautiful as you are skilled kunoichi-san." he spoke softly making all the blood in her body rush up her neck. She narrowed her eyes at the smiling blonde who hadn't even retaliated once, though he could have killed her countless times until now. But she had gotten him now, she thought with a smirk and held a half ram seal making her opponent raise a curious eyebrow.

" **Fuin!"** she whispered and his eyes widened when a shock of pain racked his body. He fell down to a knee and coughed out blood on the grass underneath him.

"What *cough* did you do?" he wheezed out making her smirk and walk up to his downed form graciously.

"It's a torture seal Uchiha. I slapped it when you pulled me close the last time on your back. It is a level five seal, so feel the pain your accursed clan has caused to innocents…" she stopped feeling cold metal on her throat, causing her to stiffen. She glanced back into another pair of Sharingan eyes glaring coldly at her.

"Remove the seal." the raven haired man commanded coldly, making her gulp at the murderous aura surrounding him. She narrowed her eyes at him in indignation when he pressed the kunai harder, making a trickle of blood run down her skin.

"I won't repeat again." he said coldly, making her shiver at his stone cold voice and nod hesitantly, he would slit her throat if she didn't no doubt about it. She brought up her hand in another half ram seal and let out a small pulse of chakra.

" **Kai!"** She whispered when the blonde felt relief wash all over him and he fell down face first, unconscious from shock at the pain the seal had inflicted on him.

"What's going on here?" a new voice spoke from their side making Madara glance at the village leader Ryouta Uzumaki coldly.

"This girl has attacked my brother in broad daylight and slapped a level five torture seal on him. A few minutes more and my foolish little brother would have been dead." he said icily, making the Uzumaki leader's eyes widen in horror when he saw the seal on the back of the unconscious boy. A level five torture seal was used on the worst of criminals to make them confess everything before the strain of the pain the seal caused would make their brain go out completely in a few moments, depending on how strong the victim's mind was.

His own gray eyes narrowed in on the girl that Madara had half a mind to slit her throat and be done with it.

"Mito, why did you engage him?" he asked angrily making her glare at the man.

"Because he is an Uchiha!" she shouted back instantly, making him sigh tiredly and rub his temples.

"Madara-sama…" he said tiredly, making her eyes widen in shock when she heard the name of her captor and the realization of the situation she was in settled in on her.

"Please let her go, and forgive my daughter for her foolishness." he said apologetically making Madara stare at him blankly before he retracted his kunai and nodded. The girl sighed and rubbed her neck, glaring at the man who paid her no heed and checked on the unconscious boy in the middle of field. He crouched down on one knee and pulled his last living relative on his lap when his eyes softened and he removed the bangs shadowing his now closed eyes.

"Your gentle nature will one day be your death Naruto." he said in a tired voice, making Ryouta smile at the stoic man looking so lovingly at his brother. Mito scoffed, making Ryouta glare at her which she promptly ignored and spoke her mind to the Uchiha clan head.

"Yeah, gentle and an Uchiha. Those two words don't fit in a single sentence too much, do they?" she asked sarcastically, making Madara glance at her sharply. Ryouta was now getting worried at his daughter's words and how the man would take them.

"How many times did he retaliate to your advances?" he asked coldly. She opened her mouth then closed it when it hit her. He never tried to counter attack her even once in her charges.

"Not even once right?" he asked though more stated. Ryouta saw his daughter having no words, and knew immediately that Madara was right and his glare intensified on the girl.

"Had it been me, your head would have rolled the moment you raised your blade at me." he said coldly with such conviction that it made the two Uzumaki shiver at his certain and cold tone. He took one last glance at Ryouta before picking his brother up in his arms, gently.

"This is not a way to handle diplomatic envoys in your village Uzumaki." he said in disgust, dropping all honorifics to show his complete contempt at the village leader. Before the village leader could speak the Uchiha brothers vanished in a swirl of flames and he glowered at the girl by his side who shrunk under his gaze.

"You idiot, do you even realize what you have just done?" he shouted angrily, making her look at her feet and shake her head nervously. He raised his hand to slap her and she clenched her eyes to take it but he stopped and just glared at her.

"Those two were here to have diplomatic talks with our village for an alliance between Uzu and Konoha. The Uchiha clan and especially Madara isn't a man known for forgiving anyone who attacks his clan members much less his own family. Pray to Kami, he keeps a cool head or we can have a war on our heads." he said loudly making her eyes widen in shock. He left the ashamed girl in the middle of the clearing who walked back to the village with slow and small steps, not willing to see anyone right now.

Madara meanwhile, walked into a hotel and straight into the room the manager gave him keys for and placed his little brother on the bed. He sat on a chair by his bedside and looked at the sleeping boy with worried eyes, brushing his hair gently every now and then, before he sighed tiredly.

"When will you grow up Naruto?" he asked to no one in particular and smiled sadly. He missed the boy's energy now. It didn't suit him to be so still and not hopping around with those wide curious eyes trying to take in everything they could. Kami forbid if anything happened to his brother, there won't be a village for Hashirama to form an alliance with when he returned; he thought murderously and just kept brushing his brother's golden locks gently, like he had done a thousand time from his childhood until now.

Madara had fallen asleep with his head by his brother's hand. The sun rose the next morning and Madara felt something squeeze his hand. His eyes snapped open to see his brother's eyes fluttering open and wincing at the light coming in from the window. Baby blue orbs opened with a cute yawn to see narrowed onyx eyes staring at him blankly making him smile sheepishly.

"Nice morning, ne Madara-nii? He asked nervously in a sleepy voice making the Uchiha clan head slap a hand on his face tiredly.

"You idiot, why the hell didn't you retaliate even once? You could have at least knocked her out…" he said tiredly making the blonde sadden and turn away to look at the window.

"She was so beautiful Nii-san, I just couldn't…" he whispered softly making Madara open his mouth before closing it shut and purse his lips. For the first time in many years, he was at a complete loss of words. He had never said such a thing before to him. What could he say to that?

He sighed and slapped a hand on his face yet again. He wanted him to meet some girls and take out his desires of the flesh as his age demanded of him, but the boy liked girls who were out to kill him for no reason whatsoever apparently. He really was suicidal, and he would lead him to his death instead, most probably of heart failure if this kept up. And he knew what was coming next too…

"Madara-nii, don't be angry at them and take it out in the peace talks. It was just a misunderstanding." he spoke in his soft voice making Madara rub his temples.

"Naruto she attacked you, a diplomatic envoy…" he was cut off by his little brother again.

"Please?" he whispered and Madara sighed again. He was sighing a lot lately.

"Alright, but just this once." he said stoically making Naruto smile. This new village and it's formation was now looking like a lot of work to Madara and he was thinking why he had agreed to these missions in the first place? But what would complaining do now? He mused and heard Naruto's stomach rumble loudly.

Naruto sat up and rubbed his neck sheepishly.

"I haven't had anything since that half bowl of ramen from yesterday. Can we get something to eat?" He asked as if a child had been caught stealing a cookie when Madara's eyes narrowed in on him. She had attacked him when he was eating peacefully then? He turned around with a curt nod with Naruto following him after freshening up a bit but he did hear his brother's last words before he left.

"Just this once I'll let it go, next time if you don't retaliate, I will." he stated and closed the door with a click. Naruto decided to have breakfast alone this time and saw the ramen stand from yesterday opened quite early. He walked in with a smile gracing his lips as he raised the curtains.

"Yo Ojii-san! Can I get something to eat?" he asked making the man smile and nod. He motioned for a seat and Naruto occupied a stool happily.

"So what will you have?" he asked and Naruto thought for a moment before smiling.

"Breakfast!" he said raising his hand childishly making the cook chuckle at the bubbly boy.

"You've got to be more specific my boy." he said in chuckles.

"Oh…" Naruto said nodding sagely before raising his hand again with a smile. "…a heavy breakfast then!" he chirped happily and the cook laughed whole heartedly and nodded.

"Alright then I'll fix you up something nice my boy." he said in chuckles and Naruto nodded happily.

"So why did Mito-sama attack you yesterday?" he asked while he poured the eggs in the pan making Naruto tilt his head in confusion.

"Who?" he asked making the man smile.

"The girl from yesterday, that didn't let you finish your lunch." he said with a laugh and Naruto laughed himself and nodded.

"Nothing, it was just a minor misunderstanding." he said waving his hand lazily and the man rose an eyebrow remembering the scuffle from yesterday.

"That was one hell of a misunderstanding then my boy." the cook said and Naruto laughed happily waiting for his breakfast. He made small talk with the chef while he ate till he was full. He walked out the stand leaving a happy owner behind and crossed his arms behind his head in thought.

" _What am I supposed to do today? They assigned me as Madara-Nii's bodyguard, as if he needs a bodyguard."_ he thought with a pout. He gazed at the sky to see it was still quite early and he had the whole day to himself. He saw the entry to a training ground and smiled, maybe he could sleep and rest a bit today. He was till exhausted from all the pain the seal had put him in yesterday. He had heard that seals were quite powerful before but yesterday he had seen one in action from a seal mistress herself.

He walked in the grounds and saw a small stream and waterfall there making him smile. He caught sight of a deer drinking it's fair share of water and it made him smile all the more. He saw the deer and walked to it's side, keeping his distance so as to not scare the animal off. The deer slowly moved closer to him seeing his calm aura and Naruto rubbed his nose softly before it nuzzled it's face in his neck making the blonde chuckle.

Mito was watching him from the trees as she had followed him until he had reached a secluded spot to give her apologies. No way was she apologizing in public and humiliate herself. She was the heiress of her clan for crying out loud. She had followed him after seeing him walk through the streets from a distance and was about to go and meet him when he stood up.

She stopped dead in her tracks when he started undoing the white kimono shirt he had on and her cheeks turned crimson when she saw his ripped and lean chest, not at all buffy and felt butterflies in her stomach. However, her face changed it's color completely to a pale white when he turned around and she saw the numerous scars adorned on his back. They looked as if they had been cleaved with a blade and burned as well but how could that be?

She saw him step in the water and come out a moment later from the dip with his hair drenched in it. He waved them around making his silky locks wave along with them. She had to admit he was quite handsome. Even though he was an Uchiha he was quite handsome and rarely had any features reminiscent of the infamous clan. But his eyes had proved his heritage well enough yesterday. She bit her lip thinking of what she could say to make him forgive her…

"Yo! Hime-chan, stop peeping and come join me!" his joyful voice rang in the fields, making her trip on the branch and fall down. She saw him laugh and wave his hand childishly.

She stood up and glared at the chuckling boy who just laughed harder at seeing her predicament.

Her soft footsteps made their way to the waterfall where he had laid his back against a boulder and closed his eyes in contentment. He cracked an eye open, to see her glaring at him and her crossed arms under her chest.

"You know the water is quite nice and refreshing." he said sagely making her grit her teeth in annoyance.

"I'm not getting in there with you, you pervert." she said in an annoyed tone making him raise an eyebrow as his eyes opened.

"What gave you the idea that I am a pervert?" he asked curiously, but she could see his slight teasing tone underneath containing all the mirth in the world.

"You know what I'm talking about!" she hissed angrily. Damn that Uchiha! He made her so angry all the time and he knew how to press her buttons all too well.

"I have no idea." he said whistling innocently and her face turned red in anger and embarrassment.

"You-You-" she said pointing an accusing finger at him and he was getting more and more amused by the minute.

"Me-Me-?" he asked in an amused tone and she gained a tick mark on her forehead.

"Ugh-" she growled and stomped, huffing and turned to leave the grounds when she felt a splash of water from behind her. She stopped dead in her tracks feeling her back dripping and turned around in all her righteous fury to see him laughing and rolling around in water joyfully. She growled and jumped in making him yelp.

"Kyaa!" he yelped when she jumped on top of him and started to try and punch him which he dodged effortlessly even in water, chuckling all the while. She didn't even realize when she had started laughing as well. She splashed water on him and he splashed it back as both played like little children, completely forgetting she was here to apologize for almost killing him a day earlier. A few moments later both stopped laughing, realizing what they were doing as their serious eyes gazed at each other.

Mito crossed her arms around her chest, knowing how revealing her pure silk must be right now. She felt so vulnerable and naked right now. She hadn't even thought of that before she had jumped in. She stumbled through the water and walked onto the shore while Naruto followed her and saw her trying to cover her body which had a translucent silk covering it, that was quite revealing of her generous curves. He couldn't help but admire her beauty at that moment.

He saw her shy eyes and the way she was trying to cover herself up with her arms but faling quite miserably. His feet took steps towards her and she stepped back equally before she had hit the tree and he was right in front of her. She wasn't meeting his eyes and trying to clutch herself as tightly as possible from how vulnerable and scared she felt right now.

She stiffened when his arms wrapped around her and pulled her close to him. Naruto felt her guarded form and how she was still trying to cover herself up.

"Untie your obi Hime-chan." he spoke softly making her eyes widen. He gazed into her scared and frightened eyes with his calm eyes and smiled softly. His hands cupped her cheeks to wipe the tears that were threatening to fall from how scared she felt, wondering if a kunoichi's worst nightmare was going to be her punishment today.

"Trust me." he whispered making her look into his eyes that were looking at her so sincerely. Her fears washed away slowly and she nodded shyly . Her hands, shaking from cold started to undo her obi as it revealed her red inner robes. He pulled the white kimono off gently and let it fall to the ground. His arms were once again around her and this time she clutched him tightly to take the warmth in as her body shivered from the breeze hitting her wet body. She felt his hands go to the knots tying her robe to her back and she clutched him even tighter.

"Don't worry." he whispered softly, making her nod in his chest as he undid the last of the six knots and pulled it off her shoulders gently. She was left only in her white laced panties and her naked breasts were now pressed against his warm and firm chest. She nuzzled her cheek on his chest and closed her eyes to hide from the cold she felt and was on the verge of chattering her teeth now. His hands pulled off his white kimono shirt which he had hung on the tree earlier, and pulled it over her shoulders slowly. He slid her arms in one by one in such a slick manner so she didn't have to make him see anything. He hugged her while her shaky hands tied the bindings of his shirt that came halfway down her thighs.

She looked up to see him looking at her warmly and her cheeks turned rosy from how close they were right now. He took away a lock of her long crimson hair away from her face and cupped her cheek making her lean into his hand, never once breaking eye contact.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…" he started when she shook her head.

"No I'm sorry." she said in an embarrassed voice making him look at her with a completely lost look.

"For what Hime-chan, I shouldn't have thrown water on you…" he was cut off as she placed her fingers which were the only thing uncovered by his large loose sleeves now.

"For yesterday, I shouldn't have attacked you like that. Please forgive me." she said and he nodded with a smile.

"Alright, apology accepted but on one condition only." he said seriously making her nod instantly and await to see what he wanted.

"I want my ramen bowl back. You'll have to treat me to my bowl of miso ramen that you didn't let me eat yesterday." he said in such a serious tone she thought he was asking for a peace treaty. When his words registered in her mind, a giggle escaped her lips.

"Baka…" she said in giggles and he just watched the girl giggle cutely in his arms with a smile. "…alright, but just one bowl 'kay?" she asked in giggles poking her finger in his chest to emphasize one bowl and he nodded with a chuckle himself.

"Of course, Hime-chan." he said softly, stroking her cheek with his hand. She looked at him with those same scared eyes when he realized how close they were and he stepped back a couple of steps and looked away when she clutched the large T-shirt tightly.

"I'm sorry." he whispered, and she said nothing and looked away to hide her blushing face.

"It's alright." she whispered in an embarrassed voice and he nodded too. Both stood there awkwardly, while Mito was rubbing her arms when Naruto picked up her wet clothes and walked a little away from her to give her some space. She saw him place his hands on her clothes and sat a little away from his position, tucking her knees to her chest.

"What are you doing?" she asked curiously as he channeled chakra from his palms into the clothes.

"I'm channeling **Katon** chakra into your clothes to dry them quickly, don't want you to catch a cold, now do we Hime-chan?" he asked playfully making her hide her face in her knees. It made her heart warm up that he cared so much for her.

"Why do you keep calling me Hime-chan then?" she asked in an annoyed tone making him chuckle happily.

"Well for one I don't know your name…" he said making her realize she hadn't even introduced herself yet. So much for manners and common courtesy she mused. He did know her name from what the ramen stand owner had told him but that would be telling in his mind.

"And second you are a princess." he said simply and she smiled softly and didn't take her face out from her legs to hide her embarrassment.

"My name's Mito, Mito Uzumaki." she said politely making him smile.

"And I am Naruto Uchiha, a pleasure to make your acquaintance Hime-chan." he said with a dramatic effect, making her giggle. Her eyes watched the numerous scars that filled his back and she grew curious.

"How did you get those scars?" she asked curiously and noticed him stiffen for a moment before he relaxed and chuckled.

"Why? Getting interested in me, Hime-chan?" he asked teasingly to change the subject and got a death glare in return to which he promptly laughed at getting her so riled up, quite too easily.

"Pervert." she muttered making him look at her amused.

"Come on Hime-chan, I'm not a pervert, it's just you interest me so much, I couldn't resist." he said playfully making her glare at his teasing. Suddenly his eyes turned serious when he looked at her with a gaze that caught her complete attention.

"Really Hime-chan, I can't resist you." he said in a sincere voice making her cheeks turn pink and she didn't know what to say. Her heart was beating wildly and she couldn't even meet his gaze. No one ever talked to her like that, the way he was so playful one moment and flirtatious or teasing the next. No one had the gall to be that way with the picture perfect Uzumaki heiress like that.

"My name is Mito, not Hime-chan…" she muttered in an all too embarrassed voice, trying to change the subject. He removed his palms from her clothes and straightened them out, giving them to her after neatly folding them. She took them with a grateful nod, stood up and walked to go behind a boulder when he spoke up.

"At least give me my shirt before going Hime-chan!" he said loudly and dodged a rock that she threw at him shouting 'Pervert', her face fully flushed from his words. He laughed whole heartedly and shook his head. She was just too easy to tease. She walked back towards him, spinning her long locks in her usual two buns when he caught her hands in his, making her look at him innocently.

"Let them flow freely Hime-chan, they look better that way…" he said taking the senbons off her hair and brushed them free with his hands. She brushed the hair coming down her shoulder and to her waist in the front gently.

" _They do?"_ she thought with a small smile and nodded. He handed her the senbons that she just hid in her sleeves and let her hair loose. She always kept them tied up since everyone said they were too long for a kunoichi. He was the first one to ever say that to her.

"I have to get to a clan meeting in an hour, I should go now." she said softly seeing him standing so close to her. He took a step forward making her step back and then another when she felt her back hit the tree and his hands landed on each side of her shoulders.

"Just one question before you go Hime-chan." he said calmly making her blink innocently and nod in a simple manner. He brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers making her shy away slightly from his soft touch and fist his half open shirt tightly.

"Why did you attack me yesterday? No matter what I said, each word and thing I did, it only made you all the more furious at me. What was the reason?" he asked curiously, taking a lock of her hair in his hands and brush the silky hair in his fingers. She kept her gaze on his chest and bit her lip nervously.

"I-I" she started but pursed her lips nervously. Naruto glanced at her curiously, tucking the lock of hair behind her ear gently, when she looked at him with the same innocent eyes as before. But he could see them shimmering from behind and she would definitely cry if he pushed any further too.

"I h-have to go." she stuttered nervously and he nodded with a smile, stepping aside. She walked back out the grounds with the same elegance while always as he watched her go with a longing look and kept his forehead against the tree, releasing a tired sigh.

" _What the hell is wrong with me? She pushes me each and every way…"_ he thought of the red haired girl that he wanted to know so much about.

" _Mito Uzumaki huh? I want to know you more Hime-chan, a lot more."_ he thought with a smile of confidence and jumped on the branch of the tree laying down on it. He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out the newly minted Leaf village forehead protector.

" _Well they do have some uses…"_ he thought, pulling them over his eyes and laid down to take a nap. His nap was however disturbed when he jumped at the voice that spoke by his side.

"I take it you want to sleep again?" asked the blank voice of his elder brother. He breathed a sigh of relief and glared at the amused looking raven.

"You should stop doing that." he muttered angrily and the man ruffled his hair like a child, making him glare at his brother who ignored him.

"So you seduced the Uzumaki heiress?" he asked stoically, making Naruto almost fall of the tree when his words rang through the silence of the forest.

"I didn't seduce her damn it!" he shouted at his brother with a blush making him raise an eyebrow.

"That was why she had her hair undone and her kimono had so many kinks…" he pointed to the way she had walked out when he had walked in, making Naruto's blush reach his ears.

"That- she, you know- Argh damn it, it isn't like that!" he said angrily making the Uchiha clan head shrug.

"Then maybe I should…" he couldn't finish his words because Naruto had pulled him by his collar and his anger had caused his Sharingan to flare to life.

"Don't you dare finish that sentence! She isn't like that." he hissed furiously and his eyes widened when he saw his brother smirk. He threw him back and his eyes returned to their blue counterparts and pouted in annoyance.

"You are such a bastard." he muttered irritably and Madara just kept his smug smirk and jumped down.

"Now come on, you can sulk later. I might have gotten you a mission that may _interest_ you." he said suggestively, making the blonde perk up. He immediately jumped down and followed his brother like a lost puppy with that stupid grin on his face.

"What is it?" he asked excitedly like a five-year-old making Madara shake his head hopelessly.

"You really are a lost cause…" he muttered in a low voice making Naruto glare at him.

"Hey what's that supposed to mean!" he said indignantly making Madara smirk.

"See what I mean?" he asked dryly making Naruto growl.

"You take that back!" he shouted making Madara shrug.

"Maybe I'll just let someone else have the mission…" Madara mused in deep thought making Naruto frown and take a few steps closer to him.

"Oh come on, don't be such a bastard Madara-Nii." he said with a pout, tugging his sleeve childishly making Madara raise an eyebrow.

"Why should I? I am such a bastard after all, I should just give it to someone who respects me…" he said sarcastically making Naruto sigh.

"I sooo respect you…" Naruto said in a whining voice making Madara stare at him blankly.

"Yeah by calling your elder brother a bastard." he said dryly making Naruto pout.

"That doesn't mean I don't respect you, after all you are the one I look up to now Nii-san…" he muttered the last part in a whisper but Madara heard it and smirked.

"Alright you can go get a mission for a few days alone as an escort for your future matriarch of the Uchiha clan…" he said and chuckled when Naruto pulled him in a hug.

"You're the best Madara-Nii…" he said happily and Madara patted his back happily.

"But you're still a bastard…" he muttered pointedly making the Uchiha clan head frown.

"Maybe I'll ask someone else…" he muttered.

"OH COME ON I DIDN'T MEAN IT" Naruto tugged his sleeve childishly making the amused eyes of people to stare at the Uchiha brothers' with smiles on their faces while they trudged back to the hotel arguing about nothing in particular.

* * *

 _ **Authors notes : There is the first chapter in the series. Last night I searched for a Naruto x Mito fic and was surprised to find only one decent one but that too only had nine chapers with 40 or so k words. Well instantly cracked up my laptop and wrote it through the night. I was surprised when I saw the word limit. Was getting a bit bored from my normal pairings and decided to take this out of my system. Well tell me how it is and for Desert Flower expect an update by day after tomorrow the latest, it is in beta alright? So enjoy this until then. Well until next time keep reading and reviewing Ja Ne ;)**_

* * *

 _ **PS : Naruto has a troubled past which you'll get to know how and why in the future. See how Mito and Naruto get close and how it develops along with the changes Naruto's presence brings in the timeline along with the secrets his past hides too. He is a happy go lucky guy like in canon but when it comes to battle, you'll see in the later chapters hehe...**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Naruto : Remnants of the Past**

* * *

 **Uzushiogakure no sato**

* * *

 **Next Morning**

* * *

Madara stared at the small ball of blanket curled up on the bed occupied by his little brother, blankly. He wondered how he should wake him up. Maybe a normal approach instead of one that would amuse him greatly would be nice, just this once.

Just this once, he told himself and nodded.

"Naruto wake up, it's morning…" he shook the small ball of blanket that curled in on itself even more.

"Go away, M'sleepy." he mumbled sleepily and Madara sighed. Well drastic times called for drastic measures, and his brother's sleepiness was unparalleled. How the boy behaved like that even after living a shinobi's lifestyle, was quite frankly beyond him.

"Naruto there's a guest for you…" he said stoically and watched the blonde moan unhappily.

"Tell'em to get lost and come back…well…never…" he spoke sleepily with a cute yawn. Madara smirked, time to play his card.

"It's Mito…" he didn't even finish, when the lifeless ball of blanket came to life and jumped up on the floor to be a standing 5'11" ball of blanket. He saw what looked like a silhouette of his foolish brother saluting underneath the blanket and the ball suddenly spoke up.

"I'm up!" he chirped up, now fully awake. Madara slapped his hand over his face and shook his head.

"You're hopeless…" he muttered walking out as the blanket covering Naruto's head slipped and he blinked innocently taking in his surroundings.

"Madara-Nii, where is she?" he asked innocently making Madara give out a defeated sigh and open the door to their room.

"Really, there is no hope at all…" he muttered and walked out leaving a baffled blonde behind. His mind regained it's bearings when two and two clicked together making him let out a scream.

"DAMN IT YOU TRICKED ME DIDN'T YOU! YOU REALLY ARE A BASTARD!" Madara heard the shout and smirked.

"Lost cause, that idiot…" he muttered and walked to the business at hand now that his idiotic brother was awake. Naruto grumbled about idiotic elder brothers who ruined his sleeps and today he decided to follow his brother for his boring 'Alliance Talks'.

Clad in shinobi clothes he walked towards the tower when a shinobi appeared in front of him in a **Shunshin**. He blinked innocently when the man bowed politely, people in this village were quite polite when not out to kill him he surmised and nodded to himself sagely.

"Ryouta-sama has summoned you to his office, Uchiha-san." he said in a polite tone, making Naruto break out of his thoughts and nod with a smile.

"Alright, let's go! I was headed there anyways…" he said making the man smile at the bubbly boy when Naruto started walking past him, making him grow confused.

"Umm Uchiha-san, do you not know the **Shunshin**?" he asked in a polite voice, not wanting to offend a diplomat of the infamous clan. Naruto stopped and blinked at the man before grinning and pulling him towards the tower by his arm now draped around his shoulder.

"Oh come on and let's see the village that looks so beautiful. Where is the fun in teleporting when you could show me the sights while we walk to it, ne?" he asked happily and the man smiled and nodded. The boy certainly didn't look or hold himself as one of the people he had heard of the dangerous and well-known Uchiha clan.

He walked he blonde Uchiha to the tower, showing him some of the village's landmarks to let him get used to the village while he was staying there. The blonde merely gazed at the beautiful and illustrative landmarks, ranging from shopping districts to some public libraries and parks. The village was so lively and pretty in his opinion that he didn't even realize when they had reached the tower and the man turned to him and bowed politely.

"We have reached the tower Uchiha-san, I believe I should take my leave." he said when Naruto smiled and struck out his hand.

"It's Naruto, and thanks for showing me around. I appreciate your help." he said with a stupid grin, making the man smile and shake his hand with a smile and a nod.

"Ryuujin Uzumaki, a pleasure to meet you, Naruto-san. You are a most interesting individual, I must say." he said making Naruto grin happily.

"The pleasure's all mine Ryuujin-san. And I get that a lot from people, hearing I belong to the Uchiha's in particular." he said and the man laughed whole heartedly at his blunt and honest reply. He was quite interesting indeed.

" _He is a lively one, isn't he? Naruto Uchiha huh?"_ he thought watching the boy wave at him as he walked in, and he waved back. The red head watched the boy go in with a grin and shook his head with a smile going off for his own duties. Naruto walked in the tower that had many bright colors and scriptures as opposed to their village's elegant looking halls. It was a nice and colorful change in his opinion as he walked past the secretary who told him he was expected and motioned for him to the door by her side. He knocked on the door a couple of times to get a muffled permission and twisted the nob to see his brother in one of the guest seats sitting in front of an old man with white hair and the village leader's robes

Though his heart warmed and a joyful smile lit up his face when he saw Mito standing by his side. He slid the second vacant seat back and looked back at Ryouta, who nodded with a smile and he took his seat. He settled in and glanced at Mito who had her eyes kept on his brother under her stoic noble face. He smiled though, when he saw her open and long hair resting on the left side of her shoulder and falling down to her waist.

" _She kept them open huh?"_ he thought as warmth spread in his chest. He wanted to brush those silky crimson locks so much right now. He turned his gaze back to the smiling village leader and he smiled back at him. Ryouta stood up, making Naruto do the same out of courtesy while Madara remained seated, his arms crossed and eyes closed.

"Naruto-San" he started stretching out his hand that Naruto shook and looked straight into the man's brown eyes.

" _She must have gotten her pretty eyes from her moth- What the hell am I thinking?!"_ he crushed his thoughts about the Uzumaki heiress and focused on the matter at hand, though the thoughts were quite nice and distracting to him right now.

"It is a pleasure to meet you under these favorable circumstances." he said with a strained smile. Naruto immediately got the hint and nodded with a smile.

"The pleasure's all mine." he said with a firm handshake making the man smile in relief.

"Please let me extend my apologies for what happened yesterday. Believe me, it was all a great misunderstanding…" he was cut off by the smiling blonde.

"It's quite alright…." he was cut off by a shake off the head from Ryouta.

"No no, apologies must be done properly, for if we are to become and remain allies in the following years it is necessary." he said politely and turned his gaze to Mito who stiffened and looked at Naruto with an apologetic bow of her head. Naruto wanted to catch her shoulders before she bowed down completely but the man had his hand clutched in a firm handshake.

"I apologize for my actions yesterday. Please accept my apology." she said in a stoic, blank voice making Naruto's heart clench at that emotionless voice. He wanted to hear that soft, shy voice from yesterday. Not this cold and emotionless one.

"It's alright." he said with a strained smile and the man shaking his hand grinned happily and nodded.

"Excellent, I must apologize for calling you so early in the morning but I had to get this cleared out before the misunderstanding increased." he said and Naruto nodded, as the man let go of his hand. He walked to his side and towards the door making Madara stand up. Mito followed her father politely like a shadow as she was expected as an heiress while he turned with a smile to the two Uchiha's.

"Let's talk this over breakfast. I have everything prepared at our estate, if you gentlemen would. Please follow me." he asked and Naruto and Madara nodded at the same time. Ryouta walked out, Mito in tow while Naruto walked behind his brother after closing the door to the office. His eyes lingered on longingly at the girl who had his heart clenched at the moment.

He hadn't seen as much as a hint of emotion from her and it hurt him more than he had imagined. His eyes focused in on her while she walked elegantly behind her father.

His Sharingan activated on instinct when she turned to glance back at him for but a moment. His tomoes spun to take in each and every moment of the princess in slow motion, not wanting to miss any of it.

He watched her turn her eyes to him, as her eyes met his. Not the stoic and emotionless eyes he had seen in the office, but the same soft and shy violet orbs he adored so much. He watched her cheeks turn slightly pink after a moment when she tucked a lock of her silky crimson hair behind her right ear. He understood what she was trying to signal to him.

" _I know you let them free like I said Hime-chan, and believe me they look wonderful."_ he thought longingly and kept his eyes on her, now even more intensely.

Her eyes averted down to his chest shyly, feeling embarrassed from his intense stare and a growl died down in his throat when he watched her turn back around, her hair flailing around slowly. He watched her walk that same elegant walk and focused on that very slight swaying of hips and smirked.

Madara too had caught the eye to eye conversation. Any lesser man wouldn't have, but his clan wasn't known to be the sharpest of eyes in the elemental nations for no reason, he thought and turned his glance to his back to see his little brother.

The same stupid grin he had seen a million times was being flashed over his brother's face. He sighed inwardly at this new development, the girl too was responding back to his feelings. The talks of the alliance were now looking quite shaky in his head. He knew that his brother won't back down from getting to know the girl, no matter what. He was stubborn as an iron mallet when it came to matters of heart. And the look in his eyes, the longing he saw, he knew the boy was smitten with her.

* * *

 **Uzumaki Head Households…**

* * *

The four walked into the royal house of the Uzumaki head family. Naruto took in each and every detail of the elegant looking house. From the stone steps they were walking in, to the gardens that were so well tended and nicely groomed. Naruto compared it to their own home subconsciously noting that despite theirs being much nicer and elegant than this. This one had so much life in it, just like the rest of the village.

Ryouta led them to the guest room, which was mostly empty except for the small decorating elements on the sides as well as on the walls. They each took a cushion, sitting on their knees in a formal manner except for Mito who was addressed by her father.

"Mito, go and get our get some tea while the breakfast is prepared and served." he spoke formally. She nodded and went out, not seeing the pair of baby blue eyes that had been taking in her each and every movement. Naruto turned to the smiling clan leader and smiled himself.

"You have a great home I must say." he said in a polite tone making the man chuckle and nod. He liked the boy, he was easy to talk to unlike his brother whose each word sent shivers down his spines.

"Arigato Naruto-san, may I ask what took you so long to get my call to my office, if you don't mind? I imagined Ryuujin wouldn't have taken so long." he asked curiously making Naruto smile and rub his head sheepishly.

"Oh he came quite early, but I insisted to take a walk and see all the landmarks of your village. After all, it is not everyday one gets to see beauty such as what Uzu holds in itself. Especially, the mornings, it would be a shame to miss it." he said in a happy voice making the leader chuckle again.

"A shame it would be, indeed." he said in chuckles. Madara shook his head in exhasparation, though he couldn't help the ghost of a smile that graced his lips. His brother had that ability to liven up even the most serious of places with his lively spirit, as was the case here. The door to the room slid open making all eyes turn there. Mito walked in, a tray with cups, a kettle and side dishes on them. Naruto watched her walk with that same grace like always and sit in front of her father.

She prepared his tea and moved on to Madara, who gave her a curt nod of acknowledgment and gratefulness when she finally sat in front of Naruto who smiled at seeing the princess sit in front of him. She poured the water in the cup and moved her hand to the small pot on the tray.

"Cream?" she asked and he nodded with a smile. She didn't meet his eyes for the fear of getting flustered from that same loving gaze he was no doubt watching her with.

"Sugar?" she asked and Naruto glanced to the side to see his brother and Ryouta already engrossed in the technical talks of the alliance. He turned his eyes to the girl who was waiting for his answer and smiled softly.

"Of course, I like it sweet." he said softly and so lovingly, it made her cheeks turn pink. She nodded and put the sugar in and picked up his cup and cake. Her hands outstretched to hand it to him. He brought his hands forward and caught her hands along with the plate and cup making he eyes widen. Her cheeks turned rosy when she saw the soft smile and loving gaze he was watching her with. He rubbed her soft hands gently making her bite her lip and glance to the side to see her father oblivious to everything and turned her nervous and shy eyes to the blonde in front of her.

"Naruto, please?!" she whispered softly, and he smiled and nodded. He took the beverage and side dish, letting her hands go which she clutched near her heart to make it's hammering beats calm down.

"Aren't you going to have some, Hime-chan?" he asked her playfully, making her shake her head innocently.

"No, I'm the host. Guests must be served…" her words died down when he put his hands over hers, that were resting on her lap and watched her soft and shy eyes gaze at him innocently.

"I must insist." he said softly making her look at his hands that were covering her own and nod slowly. He picked his own cup while she prepared her tea and sipped it. He watched her cup touch her soft pink lips, which he noted were devoid of any lipsticks much to his delight. She tried to focus on her tea and not on his intense gaze, but was failing miserable as her hands shook.

She didn't know why she was so flustered whenever she saw him, but she hadn't been able to get him off her mind since yesterday. Just thinking about it made her blush prettily much to Naruto's amusement and she instantly averted her eyes at his twinkling and playful smile, completely embarrassed.

He saw her cup once again meet her pouty, supple lips and his mind drifted to where he wanted them to be. They should be covered by his own, while he held her in his arms tightly. He would ravish her mouth while leaving nothing but soft moans escaping her mouth. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and smiled sheepishly at the girl who was looking at him with a tilt of her head, no doubt confused by his strange actions.

She smiled and shook her head at seeing his idiotic behavior and wondered how he ever was a shinobi. Of the Uchiha clan no less, she couldn't even believe he was the brother of Madara Uchiha himself. He was so joyful and full of life, instead of cold and devoid like his brother. She still remembered his threat yesterday and how scared she had felt at the certainty behind his words.

 _Had it been me, your head would have rolled the moment you raised your blade at me._

The words rang in her head and shiver ran down her spine remembering it. He was no doubt the same man the entire elemental nations had heard about. But for the life of her,she couldn't understand the stupidly grinning blonde in front of her. He didn't even have the slightest care in the world that his brother and her father were discussing alliances between their villages.

"Baka…" she whispered and saw him grinning like an idiot. She couldn't help but giggle at the jovial blonde who merely smiled at seeing her giggling softly in her hand. Ryouta turned to see his brother having tea with her guests and rose an eyebrow.

"Mito, you are the host. You should be chastising like…" his scolding was cut off by a lazy wave of dismissal by the blonde.

"It is my fault Ryouta-san. I just couldn't see her not enjoying such wonderful tea and insisted on her joining me. I suppose, it isn't a problem I borrowed your princess for a little while, ne?" he asked and the man laughed whole heartedly. He himself couldn't figure out the blonde enigma and nodded.

"That is quite alright, Naruto-san. After all, a host is to make the guest as comfortable as possible." he said and Naruto nodded with a smile, turning back to see a softly smiling Mito who was gazing at her cup intently.

" _He cared to have tea with me, no one has ever before cared to when I was the host."_ she thought with a warm tingle in her chest and sipped the last of her tea. She picked up her cup and asked for Naruto's who handed it to her and let his hand brush over hers for a lingering while making her blush and take it quickly. He saw her walk out to prepare the breakfast and pouted at seeing the two elders still going on about the alliance.

" _This whole bodyguard thing would have been quite boring without Hime-chan being here to tease all the time…"_ he thought and snickered inwardly at how flustered her could make the girl. Suddenly, his mind clicked and he grinned mischievously.

"Ryouta-san, I apologize for interrupting but where is the restroom?" he asked politely making the man smile and nod.

"Of course, down the hallway, third door to the right." he said and Naruto nodded with a grateful smile. Walking out the hallway he passed the restroom and looked around.

" _Now where is the kitchen?"_ he thought and molded some chakra to extend his senses and smiled when he felt the second presence in the house. His chakra was suppressed completely in an instant and he made his way stealthily towards his target. He saw her humming softly and jumping on her toes around, preparing the food and he couldn't help but smile at this hidden side of the girl that no doubt very few had seen. He watched her for a while in a trance, her smile had captured his eyes almost completely and he felt a spark in him like he had never felt before.

His eyes landed on her back of her head, where the hair were pulled forward on her left shoulder. He hated the high collar her kimono had but was glad the little exposed part of the back of her neck near the base of her hair. He moved directly behind her while she was whisking eggs and he put his lips near her neck and blew softly.

A shiver ran down Mito's spine and she yelped softly much to his own amusement and backed away. She saw his playful grin and that mischievous twinkle in his eyes, rubbing the back of her neck where she had felt that breath, realizing what had happened. Her eyes narrowed in on the blonde and glared at him and much to her embarrassment he instead laughed harder.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed in embarrassment and Naruto wiped his eyes of the stray tears of joy he had much to her chagrin.

"Nothing, just wanted to see if you needed any help." he chirped up happily making her narrow her eyes at him. She huffed and turned back to her work, her hair flailing along with her.

"No, so go and wait while I prepare it." she said curtly making him frown at her stoic tone. He didn't like it one bit. He moved to her back, making sure she knew and watched her actions grow mechanical in nervousness. Mito knew he was right behind her and stiffened when his arms slid around her protectively, stopping her work instantly. She stiffened as he placed his chin on her shoulder, his breath tickling her ear making a shiver run down her spine.

"N-Naruto, what are you doing?" she asked softly yet nervously while he nuzzled his cheek in her hair.

"I don't like it." he said simply, making her grow confused, yet completely flustered at his nuzzling cheek on her shoulder and hair.

"W-What?" she asked in a shaky whisper making his piercing blue eyes stare into her shy violet orbs. She couldn't help but be drawn to those deep blue eyes that were so serious right now.

"That voice, it's so hollow and emotionless. I don't like it." he said simply and she wrapped her arms around her elbows and said nothing. It was how she was supposed to behave and taught from her childhood.

"That is who I am…" she was cut off by a look in Naruto's eyes that screamed danger to her. For the first time she saw how dominating those eyes could be if he wanted to and breathed easily when they softened. He tucked her hair behind her ear gently, making her smile shyly at his tender touch.

"You are not that stoic and emotionless heiress everyone sees. The real you is the girl I saw yesterday…" he said in a whisper making her blush, remembering their moments yesterday. He brought his nose to her ear and flicked it playfully before placing his lips near it.

"The girl in my arms right now…" he breathed hotly in her making her shiver and squirm nervously in his arms. But she couldn't resist in his protective embrace that made her feel so safe as she felt his face nuzzle in her neck and blushed a bright crimson tint on her cheeks.

She felt so weak in her knees and so vulnerable and scared. Not from him, but the position they were in. No one had treated her this way before and she didn't know how to respond to his words.

"Naruto, please…" she pleaded softly, making him hum softly.

"Please what?" he asked softly and saw her eyes shimmer and her bottom lip quiver nervously. She was about to cry and he knew it wasn't from fear when she placed her arms around his which were over her stomach and clutched them tightly, not wanting to let go.

He kissed the back of her head gently and loosened his arms on hers, turning her around gently. He watched her look at him so innocently, it made him smile all the more. He wiped her eyes of their unshed tears, knowing how confused she was as her troubled expression told him quite clearly.

He had been quite dominant over her and it was making her get confused, that he knew and now regretted his advances over her.

"I'm sorry…" he said softly and she clutched his shirt in her fists tightly like always, and shook her head immediately.

"Don't be, I am not really sure how I feel about you Naruto. It is quite new for me." she said with a soft sniffle and he smiled, watching her clutch his shirt even more. He knew how hard it must be for her and let her speak freely. He was surprised however when she placed her cheek on his slightly uncovered chest and gave him a hug. He wrapped her up in his arms protectively to wash away her fears and she snuggled in his arms happily.

"Mito?" he asked seriously tucking her head under his chin and felt her head bob up and down slowly. She smiled, hearing her name from his lips. It was the first time he had called her like that and it felt so nice to hear it like that.

"Remember, the bowl of ramen you owe me?" he asked and got another nod from her.

"Let me pay for it and take you out for a lunch." he said simply making her eyes turn up and gaze at him shyly.

"Like a date?" she asked softly with a hint of hope, drawing circles on his white shirt. She smiled childishly when he kissed her forehead and cupped her cheeks to give her a soft smile.

"Yes, like a date." he said simply and smiled in amusement when he watched her draw circles on his chest even more vigorously.

"Okay." she said nervously with a blush. He pulled her in for one last hug before he let go and was happy when she hugged him back. He felt her small form which felt so perfect to hold in his arms, as if they were meant for each other. He let her go slowly, and felt the loss of warmth making his smile slip a bit. Mito herself played with her loose sleeves and felt the loss of his protective arms herself.

"Tomorrow, meet me at the park's entrance alright?" he asked, brushing her crimson hair and she nodded with a smile.

"And your hair looks lovely Hime, let them free tomorrow too, alright?" he asked and got another shy smile and nod, as he left her to her preparations. She smiled joyfully and turned back to prepare the food with an extra hop to her feet, looking forward to the next day.

Naruto stepped back into the room, his face holding a serene smile. He took a seat beside his brother and now had his full attention on their talks. He rose an eyebrow when he saw the two talking over a widespread map of Uzu and Mizu.

He listened in on the conversation to get a gist of what was going on.

"I see, so these islands come under Uzu's territory?" Madara asked and Ryouta nodded. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the pointed small islands at the border of the lands of Uzu and Mizu trying to comprehend what was going on.

"Yes, and the Land of Water now states that they come under the reign of Water country and not The Whirlpool's. that is why we are thinking of sending an envoy to the Water Daimyo." he said and Madara sat silently to think about the situation. Naruto now understood everything and waited for his brother's thoughts to end, knowing he was better at this stuff than him.

"So who are you sending then? The negotiation will be tight, if there will be any. They will be expecting a high ranking person from your village, and I am sure you won't be going yourself." Madara stated and Ryouta nodded.

"Of course, I cannot leave the village without it's leader when tension on our borders are so high. I was thinking of sending Mito to negotiate with them. She has been groomed for such talks since childhood and as an heiress she is of proper standing to talk with them." he said and Madara fell silent yet again. Now, Naruto was all ears in the conversation, seeing Mito was involved in it.

"But it is risky, how do you know that it isn't a trap and a proper invite for peaceful negotiations? The two clans that are claiming their right on the lands haven't been on friendly terms with you since the beginnings." he asked and Ryouta fell silent, nodding grimly.

"Yes, but if we do not do anything to claim a peaceful solution, war might break out between us. The gains far outweigh the losses." he said and Madara nodded, agreeing completely.

"Then the security concerning your daughter must be up to the mark too. Strong shinobi with enough experience must be sent for her protection if it turns out to be a trap. Someone who can keep her out of harms way and bring her back in one piece should something happen." he said and Ryouta nodded with a grim smile. His village was a strong one, but they were seal master's first. They were good at defending their village because it was fortified in a way that suited them quite nicely. Out in the enemy's borders, without the home field advantage, he wasn't sure if he had anyone that he could entrust his daughter with.

"Madara-sama, if you could then-" he fell silent when Madara raised his hand and shook his head in negative.

"I apologize but I have to go and meet the Fire Daimyo's court in a week and a half from now and the terms of the alliances still haven't been cleared with the higher ups of your village. I simply do not have the time…" he said stoically making the man deflate in defeat. Madara glanced to the side to see his brother's puppy dog eyes pleading to him. He sighed inwardly at the boy's antics and smiled slightly.

"But my brother can escort your daughter to the negotiations and bring her back safely." he said making the man perk up and smile at the Uchiha. Ryouta's eyes turned to the grinning blonde and he looked back at Madara with a pensive gaze.

"Is he really that strong-" the rest of the words died down in his throat when Madara narrowed his eyes dangerously at the man.

"Are you doubting the skills of my brother?" he asked stoically though the hint of threat wasn't lost to the man or to Naruto. Naruto sighed at his brother's temper and saw the man shake his head vigorously.

"No, of course not Madara-sama. But my Mito did defeat-" he trailed off with an uncertain voice making Madara's eye twitch. He glare heatedly at the sheepishly smiling blonde who was the cause of this petty argument in the first place. He turned his eyes back at the Uzumaki clan head who smiled nervously at his intense gaze.

"He wasn't fighting your daughter with any intention of causing her harm or damage. He was merely playing with her. Had he been serious, we would be mourning your daughter's death right about now…" he said in a hanging tone making the Uzumaki gulp and glance nervously at the happily smiling blonde. It was no secret to anyone that Madara acknowledged the abilities of only those who he deemed worthy. And the list was short, too short in fact.

If he was saying this about his brother with such certainty then the boy must be something he mused. Plus, he was an Uchiha over being Madara's brother himself. He turned his head to Madara and nodded with a smile.

"Alright Madara-sama then your brother along with-" he was cut off by the blonde Uchiha before he could finish his statement.

"That won't be needed Ryouta-san, I prefer to work with my brother or all alone. Don't worry your daughter will return safe and sound to you with me as her escort." he said confidently making the Uzumaki clan head turn a nervous glance at the Uchiha clan head who had his eyes narrowed in on the blonde. Naruto stared right back into his brother's eyes with a serious gaze. They held the stare down for a few moments while the Uzumaki was glancing nervously between the two.

"He's right." Madara said, suddenly breaking the thick silence. Ryouta looked at him with a raised eyebrow while Madara merely held his stoic blank expression.

"My brother will be enough for her protection. There is a reason he was entrusted to be my bodyguard after all…" he said making the man's eyes widen in realization. The blonde hadn't really participated in talks of alliance and now he understood why. He was an escort for his brother!

He looked at him with an appraising and critical eye. The boy certainly did hold an aura of power and pride underneath that childish innocence he had on always. But to entrust him his daughter? All alone?

"Trust me Uzumaki-sama. Even if I have to give my life up, which will hardly be the case. Your daughter will be returned to you safe and sound. I give you my word." Naruto said in a rare serious tone making the man bore holes into his eyes as he tried to figure out the blonde enigma. The word of an Uchiha was honored in the fire country along with the Senjus, both at the top since both had fought endlessly for protecting the honor of their clans. And what alliance were they thinking of if he couldn't trust his allies, the Uzumaki's were known for their trust in friends after all.

"Alright Naruto-san, I shall give you the mission to protect my daughter since you gave me your word. As a village leader I shouldn't trust you alone for a job such as this but as a father I entrust her safety to you. Please-" he said extending his hand which Naruto shook firmly and nodded.

"Trust me Uzumaki-sama, not a hair will be touched on your daughter's head as long as I entrusted for her protection." he said seriously in a firm tone making the Uzumaki smile. His belief was firm in the boy, he seemed to be a man of gold. If he was half as strong as he was nice, then he had no worries for his daughter. He turned to the smirking Madara with a smile.

"I guess this is the start of a new friendship between Whirlpool and the Leaf?" he asked and Madara nodded, eyeing the blonde who was on cloud nine contemplatively.

"Indeed." he said simply and the door to the room slid open with their hostess standing there. Mito bowed politely and kept her hands locked in front of her formally.

"The food has been served, if you would. Please follow me." she said formally and the three me got up with the mood lifted up as Ryouta told Naruto of the delicacies that Uzu was famous for, especially Ramen. Naruto walked up to Mito's side and brushed her shoulder gently, making her look at him with that same shy look he loved. She nudged him back gently and Naruto smiled playfully, taking advantage of the two elder's talking.

He was happy she was reciprocating the spark he had for her so nicely as he eyed her tucking a lock behind her ear purposefully to show him. Madara and Ryouta entered the room with Mito and Naruto falling back.

"What were you doing?" she hissed in a whisper making him smile at her in amusement.

"You didn't seem to mind." he said playfully making her cheeks turn pink and she looked away with a huff.

"I did." she said firmly making him raise an eyebrow.

"Really?" he asked nearing the door to the dining room and she nodded instantly. He caught her hand and spun her around, pulling her to him. She squealed softly and looked up as he held her firmly to himself by her waist. She tried to wriggle off his grip but he held her firm and watched her blush and look at him innocently.

"Let me go Naruto, someone will see us…" she said softly but he instead pulled her closer and made her look into his eyes.

"Do you want me to?" he asked playfully making her glare and hit his chest softly.

"Baka, don't be such a child." she scolded softly but it didn't have the desired effect on him. Instead it egged him on even more.

"Does a child do this?" he asked in a husky tone making her shiver at his tone while he leaned down for placing his lips on her neck. She broke his hold on her and walked in, winking at him proudly at her success. He shook his head with a smile. He liked them a little feisty. Though he didn't like what happened next.

"That sly vixen…" he growled softly when he saw her add a little more sway to her hips while glancing at him with that same soft shy gaze and tucked a lock behind her ear playfully. He had half a mind to swipe her off her feet and take her somewhere private but he walked in and sat at the table set for four in the dining room. He glared at her gently making her giggle softly in her hand which made him smile himself.

"Ah Naruto-san what took you so long?" asked Ryouta and Naruto glanced at Mito who was quite interested in her plate while hiding her blushing face and turned to Ryouta with a smile, glad he hadn't noticed. But Madara had, his eyes were quite sharp and he had heard that soft squeal of the Uzumaki heiress, no doubt elicited by his foolish brother. The boy didn't the meaning of restraint he thought with a sigh.

"Oh nothing Ryouta-san, there was a small and cute kitten roaming in the hallway. I couldn't help but take her in my arms before she wriggled off me and ran off." he said simply and Mito spun her food with her chopsticks, her face fully flushed at his reference. Madara too knew what he was talking about and sighed again, deciding to eat before he lost his appetite.

Naruto broke his chopsticks and dug in the deliciously exotic looking food, and moaned in delight at the taste. His tongue was having a field day at tasting such unique flavors.

" _It would be amazing to have to eat her hand's cooking each day."_ he wondered and looked at her lovingly. She caught his eyes and focused on her food with a blush, not able to keep looking at him without getting flustered.

He snickered softly making her glare at him, all the while Ryouta talked to Madara about various things to which he gave him curt answers. He had been eyeing the two youngsters attention for a while now and saw their interactions quite intently with a side glance. They ate the lunch and finally Madara stood up along with Naruto.

"I believe we should take our leave for today. The meals were excellent, we shall meet again tomorrow." Madara said stoically making the Uzumaki clan head smile and nod. He walked beside Madara with Mito falling in tow with Naruto who caught her hand in his making her look at him with wide eyes.

"I'll see you tomorrow okay?" he reminded her and she nodded with a soft smile as he let her hand go and walked out of their compounds. Both Madara and Naruto walked in silence when the elder Uchiha decided to break it.

"So you have decided to court the Uzumaki heiress I presume?" he asked and Naruto nodded simply. He knew his brother must have caught some of their interactions from the whole day if not all of them. Madara fell silent and went into deep thought for a few moments.

"Do you believe she is the right one?" he asked and Naruto said nothing for a few moments. Madara knew how sensitive the boy could be about these things under that confident mask of his. And he would die before he let someone hurt his little brother in anyway.

"I don't know." he said honestly making Madara raise an eyebrow. He eyed his brother with a narrowed gaze awaiting further response.

"But it feels right." he said in a soft voice after a moment and Madara could hear the little far away voice he had which made him sigh. He couldn't help but worry about his idiotic little brother. He was all he had left in this world and he wanted to keep him safe from everything. Had it been his way he wouldn't let the boy leave the Uchiha clan compounds and keep him there under watchful eyes, but the boy was grown up now.

Physically at least, he told himself.

And he had already been through enough to last him a long time and he wouldn't let him get hurt even more. Not while he was around.

"Naruto, are you really sure about this?" he asked in a tone that held a hint of concern and worry for the blonde. Naruto grinned stupidly and pulled him in a one armed hug.

"Oh come on Madara-nii, we won't know until we try, that's what you always used to believe right?" he asked and Madara sighed.

"Naruto be serious for once…" he scolded lightly making the blonde smile.

"I am serious about her Nii-san, we'll see how it goes. But you can be sure, I care about her a lot." he said in that same soft tone that made Madara nod in defeat. The blonde was hell bent on it an wouldn't stop until he had achieved what he wanted.

"Alright, but come to me if anything happens alright?" he said in a stern tone making his little brother grin.

"Of course, who else would I go to anyways?" he asked playfully, crossing his arms behind his head and whistling happily. They went to the hotel to rest for the rest of the day and talk about things that they hadn't been able to ever since they had come here.

Near midnight, Naruto turned around to see the moon up and sighed. He wasn't able to sleep, his thoughts lay with her and he wanted to see her.

He chastised himself, telling himself that it was midnight and he couldn't see her right now. Plus, invading the Uzumaki clan compounds at this time would be quite a breach of security. He blinked a moment later when a light bulb went off in his head.

" _Since when have I ever cared about rules?"_ he asked himself a moment later and threw the blanket away. He put his shinobi clothes on and smiled, standing up.

The window sill slid open and he kept his foot on it to jump out.

"Going to seduce the Uzumaki heiress at midnight, in her own room no less?" asked a stoic voice, breaking the silence suddenly. He tripped and fell face first onto the roof outside and groaned in pain, clutching his nose. He cursed the man standing with his elbows on the window and looking at him with the glowing crimson eyes of his clan.

"I'm not going to seduce her damn it!" he hissed angrily making the elder Uchiha snort.

"Yeah right, going to meet her at midnight in her own room." he pointed out making Naruto sputter out incoherent curses at the man who just smirked in amusement at his flustered little brother.

"How did you know I was going to go to her anyways? And why aren't you asleep for that matter?" he asked in an accusative glare, while he sat down on the roof with crossed arms and legs, making it look quite comical seeing the time.

"I know you better than anyone, your foolishness and idiocy is unparalleled." he pointed out in a matter of fact tone making Naruto's eye twitch at his firm tone.

"Plus, how can one sleep when I know you'll do something that will bar me entry to Uzu for the rest of my life…" he pointed out and Naruto grit his teeth and fumed heavily. He was almost about to release steam from his ears if that was possible.

"Why you-" he was cut off by his elder brother yet again.

"Plus, do you think you can infiltrate the household of the village's leader whose village is known throughout the elemental nations for their impenetrable defense." he asked curiously, making Naruto blink an forget about his anger for a moment. He hadn't thought of that he mused, scratching his chin making Madara sigh.

"Well I can break through a barrier or some privacy seal if need be," he pointed out making Madara raise an eyebrow and nod after a moment. He knew his brother had a good hand at sealing, better than anyone in their clan.

"And what was your complete plan?" he asked and grew curious when he saw Naruto grin confidently and he motioned for him to come closer. Madara leaned down as Naruto brought his lips closer to his ear while cupping them.

"I was going to wing it!" he said with a mischievous chuckle as if it was the best plan in the world. Madara had a tick-mark on his forehead while his eye was twitching dangerously at his stupid brother.

"You can't be serious?" he asked in disbelief when Naruto grinned and patted his chest proudly with a nod.

 _BONK_

Naruto rubbed his head where a lump had formed, courtesy of his brother's fist.

"Kuso, it hurts!" he whispered as if crying, making Madara sigh. He could be such a child sometimes.

"When will you grow up Naruto?" he asked when Naruto got up with a grin and gave him a kiss and a light pat on his cheek.

"Never. Now, I'll see you later nii-san. I have a sealed house to infiltrate!" he said and jumped on the rooftops towards the house he wanted to see. Madara slapped his hand over his face. He was certain a few more days like these and his face would be as hard a stone from all these face palms. He went in, closing the window behind him. He knew no matter how idiotic his brother was he could take care of himself. He had overseen his training after all when he was younger.

Naruto reached the house and pumped up chakra into his eyes. He wondered how he should do this. He decided to do it the fun way and work a little. His skills might get rusty if he just sat around like this all day without doing anything dangerous like this. He narrowed his eyes on the barrier and concentrated on the chakra flow in it. The way it flowed was almost rippling, like waves…

" _A water based barrier then?"_ he surmised and knew instantly how to break it. He just needed to heat it to the point where it would open up on it's own and no one would be none the wiser since the barrier would dissipate off energy trying to keep itself firm and not be breached through brute force. He gave himself a pat on his back and took out for three pronged kunais. He dug on in one corner of the house and stealthily did the same with the rest.

He crouched down by the first kunai and started going through hand seals ending on tiger.

" **Uchiha Flame Formation!"** he whispered and erected a purely Fire based barrier of his own clan and reversed the chakra flow of the normal to make it clash with the one surrounding the house. He grit his teeth while the barrier drained him off chakra and wondered how much did they put in a simple barrier to protect a house.

He sweat dropped a moment later.

" _The Uzumaki clan are know for their sealing skills, unique and huge amounts of chakra reserves as well as longevity of youth due to the unique chakra."_ he remembered his brother's lecture and sighed. He felt a bead of sweat roll down his forehead and sighed in relief when both the barriers were dropped finally. His own reserves were pretty massive but these Uzumaki's were something else.

He walked in to the now open house and rose an eyebrow at the chakra absorption seals on the walls and privacy and security seals on the doors and windows which would trigger an alarm if he didn't be careful enough. He opened up his senses and located the room where the princess was sleeping in and smiled looking up to the second floor window on the right wall of the house.

He knew trying to stick on the wall with chakra would be foolish since the chakra absorption seals would just absorb all of it anyways. He grinned at the challenge it had for him. This was fun!

He pulled out some shurikens, ninja wire and his own designed three pronged kunais that he loved so much. He ran the ninja wire through the metallic weapons and his Sharingan took in each and every weak spot in the wall. He jumped up and twisted in the air with precision and threw the deadly stars one by one at four spots above the window he wanted to get to. His pinned the kunais in the holes of the shurikens that had wires tied to them and the prongs on the kunais gave them extra firm grip. He hid himself in the shadows when he sensed a patrol squad pass by unaware of his presence and looked at his handiwork with a smile.

"Perfect!" he whispered and caught the wires in his hand and rolled them to make a thick rope of metal from them. He scaled up the old fashioned way and came on the window he wanted and peered his eyes in.

A smile lit up his face when he saw his princess laying there on her bed, clutching a large pillow in her arms. He glanced up and down her figure that now wore a white silk nightgown that came down to her ankles and wondered if she loved silk that much. He saw her hair sprawled across her back and it made her look like she was a sleeping angel in his eyes. He kept his gaze on her for a moment before his hand felt the strain of holding himself up without chakra and he knocked on the window gently.

Mito herself wasn't able to sleep, she was too excited for the first date of her life when she heard her window knocking. She pushed it away thinking it was a bird when it knocked again a bit louder. She frowned and sat up to look at the offending creature that was disturbing her thoughts and her eyes widened when she saw the blonde grinning and waving at her stupidly with his free hand while he was hanging from a rope of ninja wire.

"Naruto?" she asked and rubbed her eyes to see if she was sleeping when he pointed to unlock the window. She blinked and realized his position, and rushed to the window. Her hands blurred through her clan's special hand seals and deactivated the security seals and pulled the window open. Naruto swung his legs in and sat on the window, rubbing his hand which had been strained quite a lot now that he thought about it. He turned his eyes up to see a flabbergasted Mito and grinned happily.

"Yo!" he chirped up making her narrow her eyes and glare at him dangerously.

"Naruto, what are you doing here?" she hissed loudly knowing the privacy seals were up and he gulped seeing her tone. He hadn't really thought this through.

"I missed you." he said simply making her blink when her cheeks turned pink and she twirled her hair shyly. Now what was she going to say to that?

"But we met a few hours ago Naruto, you shouldn't be here." she scolded half heartedly and her joyful smile at seeing him do so much just to see her made her heart warm.

"It was too long for me. I needed to see you." he said in a longing tone making her blush harder and nod all the while twirling the locks in her hands. He could make her flustered with these small comments anytime, she just couldn't figure him out for the life of her.

"Well come on have a seat." she said and sat on the bed, patting her side softly. He sat by her side and took in the room that was quite simple and pretty. It had a huge king sized bed on which he was seated, several paintings on the wall filling it with colors of nature and wildlife and a bookshelf containing numerous shelves of scrolls and books in them. He turned his gaze back to the innocent girl who was looking at him with wide curious eyes, as if he was the first boy she had ever met.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" she asked innocently making him blink. He really hadn't thought this through. Now what should he say to not make himself seem completely stupid.

"About our date!" he said after a moment and realized how stupid he must have sounded. Mito didn't realize his thoughts and nodded slowly, she was slow in these things after all.

"Oh, what about it? Did you have a change of plan?" she asked innocently making hims sigh in relief inwardly. A chibi Naruto gave a victory sign in his head at his success and he smiled at her innocence.

"No, we forgot to pick a time, remember?" he asked and flicked her nose playfully. She wrinkled it and rubbed it making him chuckle. She pouted cutely which made his eyes linger on those oh-so kissable lips longingly.

"Yes, so have you thought of a time?" she asked breaking him out of his stupor and he nodded hesitantly before a plan kicked in his mind.

"Mito, how about we go for dinner?" he asked and she nodded, seeing no problem with it.

"Where to Naruto? You know that each place we go, we will have to be discreet because everyone knows me and rumors might spread." she said playing with her gown over her lap and he nodded, now realizing how half arsed his proposal had been in the afternoon. He remembered her lunch from earlier and formed a new plan.

"Mito, can you cook something for us tomorrow? I know sounds stupid of me to ask this but-" he was cut off when her fingers covered his lips and she gave him a warm smile.

"Of course I can Naruto. I love cooking, I'll seal them up in scrolls and they'll be fresh and hot when we eat too." she said and he smiled kissing her fingers gently making her pull them away with a blush.

"So where would we go?" she asked in a happy tone making him see the childlike excitement in her eyes. He chuckled seeing her expression and she pouted cutely making him choke a little in his answer when he eyes her lips longingly.

"The waterfall clearing where we first met, it would be perfect." he said and she smiled and nodded. It sounded perfect to her too, no one used that place any more and it was so pretty with all the deer's and fireflies around.

"Okay that sounds perfect." she said happily making him smile and nod.

"Alright I should get going…" he said and she nodded with a smile. She saw him looking at her for a few moments and not getting up and grew confused.

"Something wrong Naruto?" she asked and he couldn't help but smile at the obliviously innocent girl.

"I need a goodnight kiss hime." he said simply and smiled in amusement when all the blood rushed to her face and she turned a bright red.

"Wh-No!?" she stuttered out making him frown at her denial.

"What's wrong with a small kiss hime? Don't you like me?" he asked in a tone that showed the hurt in his voice making her chew her lips nervously. He wanted to kiss her all the more at that cute gesture she always did whenever she was nervous.

"Do I have to?" she asked in a small voice making him raise an eyebrow. He placed a hand over hers making her look at him.

"What's wrong hime? Tell me?" he asked softly making her look down with a little feeling of shame. She squeaked out something incoherent making him raise up her chin with a small smile.

"What was that hime?" he asked softly making her look at him pleadingly.

"I haven't kissed before." she said in a small voice making his own eyes widen in surprise.

"How old are you hime?" he asked and she looked down even more ashamed now.

"Eighteen." she whispered in embarrassment and he cupped her cheeks in his hands to make her look at him.

"Do you want to kiss me? Do you me to be your first kiss Mito?" he asked softly making her nod shyly. He couldn't help but smile as he pulled her closer by her waist making her squeal softly. He cupped her cheek again making her look at him with those same shy and nervous eyes he adored so much. He leaned down making her eyes widen slightly, clearly not expecting this and opened her mouth to say something.

"Naru-" she whispered when he captured her lips in his own and pulled her closer by her waist. Her eyes widened comically before she closed them and pressed her lips back on his. He pulled her thighs on his lap gently and held her by her waist, brushing her long hair and petting them gently. She wrapped her arms around him out of instinct and ran her fingers through his silky golden locks.

He tilted his head to the side a bit when she gasped for air and devoured her lips with his own. She moaned in delight making him shiver as a spark ran down between them. He ran his lips over hers gently and roughly for some moments and loved how she moaned each time. He broke off for a moment when she breathed in deeply and he dove right back in.

He had wanted it so much and he wasn't letting the chance to ravish those soft lips go. She opened her mouth like before to keep up with his lips when he tilted his head and she was stunned when his tongue snaked in her lips. She opened her eyes to see him break off as he felt her not responding.

She breathed heavily and hugged him tightly, ashamed that she had broken up his spark when he was kissing her so lovingly. It had felt so great but like always she had been thinking too much and ruined it. She sniffled in his neck and heard his soft coos and soothing words to calm her down. Naruto felt that he had pushed her too far and she hadn't been ready for a full kiss when he heard her mumble something in her sobs.

"I ruined it…please don't be angry…I'm sorry…" she mumbled incoherently in sobs and he hugged her tightly for reassurance.

"Shh, it's alright." he whispered making her look at him with a sniffle when he cupped her cheeks and wiped away her tears.

"You were amazing." he whispered honestly making her look at him to see if he was lying but she saw his loving gaze and smiled childishly with a small hiccup.

"Really?" she asked softly and he couldn't help but chuckle at the cute girl. She was far too innocent when it came to these things and got off even on the smallest of things. He pecked her lips and wiped her eyes with his sleeves and nodded.

"Really." he said honestly and he raised her chin up to meet her shy violet orbs.

"Want to go again?" he asked hotly, leaning down to her lips and she shivered a little and clutched his shoulders tightly with a soft 'Hai'. it felt so amazing and she wanted it again. He pushed her back on the bed gently and laid down over her. She looked so lovely with her hair a little messy and those cheeks and lips so puffy. Her gown's strap on her left shoulder had slipped making her look so sexy in his eyes.

"You try your tongue this time alright?" he told her and she nodded as he captured her lips in a gently kiss again. He tilted his head to the side and opened his moth with her doing the same as he felt her small tongue slide in slowly and sloppily move around. He massaged it with her own to improve her sloppy attempt and loved the soft moans she was letting out. He pushed her tongue back and ravished her mouth with his own, feeling each and every inch of her small mouth until his satisfaction and broke off to see a flushed Mito looking at him lovingly.

Both now sported swollen lips as Naruto made out with her while she kept him in her arms for another hour in her bed. The sparks both felt were out of this world and finally Naruto broke off the kiss with a trail of saliva to see her red lips and his own lips was bleeding slightly from her soft bite earlier. She traced her finger on his cheek and cupped it when he leaned in her hand and looked at her longingly.

"Naruto, what are we?" she asked softly making him look into her confused eyes that looked so scared. He caught he hand and kissed her fingers softly making her smile.

"What do you want us to be?" he asked curiously and she said nothing.

"I don't know Naruto." she said honestly. She didn't know how or why she had let it lead to this. A boy she barely knew, who belonged to the clan she hated most in the world had wormed his way past her barriers and straight into her heart. Here she was doing things she didn't even think of before and she loved it. It scared her.

He watched her eyes moving in thought and pecked her cheek to break her out of it and look at him.

"Don't think too much. Sometimes, let your heart do the thinking. Just let it flow and we'll see what happens 'kay?" he asked and she nodded, instantly feeling better.

"And that was one hell of a first kiss." he said and she giggled, kissing his fingers that he was brushing her hair with.

"Hai, I'm glad it was you." she said and he nodded with a smile.

"Me too." he said honestly making smile.

" _And the last if I have anything to say about it."_ he thought confidently but didn't say it out loud. He was going to win her over completely. He knew she was the one for him now, even if she didn't know herself. And he had one trait every Uchiha possessed.

When an Uchiha wanted something. He took it.

As simple as that.

"Can you stay with me tonight?" she asked softly making him look at her surprised. He wanted to say no but couldn't when he saw her pleading eyes. He didn't want to lose restraint and make her feel uncomfortable but if she wanted it then he would let her. He lied down by her side and pulled her closer, her face snuggling in his neck while she curled herself around him. She felt so safe with him, knowing he wouldn't do anything to make her feel uncomfortable and she wanted to hold on to that safety for the night. It was a new thing for her and she wanted to relish in it.

She let out a cute yawn and kissed him on the lips with a smile.

"G'Night Naruto." she mumbled sleepily making him smile at seeing her half lidded eyes and kissed her head like she was a child.

"Good night Mito." he whispered and watched her lull to sleep after a few moment and slept himself.

* * *

 _ **Author's notes : There is the next chapter. Hope you all liked it, and no flames about not making enough progress. I'll develop Mito's and Naruto's relationship first before getting on with the bloody stuff. This story will feature a full blown war. Some asked of Naruto's strength, well he is plenty strong here. His skills will be modeled after Minato and an Uchiha so that he doesn't feel completely like an OC. Well, Madara and Naruto have a close knit relationship and in the next chapter some secrets to Naruto's childhood and Mito's hate for the Uchiha clan will be revealed. So until next time, keep reading and reviewing. Ja Ne ;)**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**~~~Naruto : Remnants of the Past~~~**_

* * *

 _ **~~~Uzushiogakure no sato~~~**_

* * *

 _ **~~~Next Morning~~~**_

* * *

Mito hugged the soft and plushy thing in her arms tightly,hugging it for dear life in her sleep. She smiled at whatever new thing she was holding, and snuggled her face in it's warm embrace with a soft smile. She felt something brush her hair gently, and flickered her eyes open at the strange yet loving sensation she was feeling.

Her violet eyes, squinted by the new sunlight of the new day, gazed into the soft baby blue eyes gazing at her with pure adoration. She blinked innocently, taking in the smile of the annoying blonde who had her completely wrapped up in his arms, and the memories of last night rushed in her mind, making her cheeks burn crimson in embarrassment.

She pressed her cheek on his chest and hid her face from his gaze, not being able to look into those mischievously twinkling eyes, and the slightly amused smile he was looking at her with. She squeezed him for dear life, when he gave her a reassuring squeeze, and a slight chuckle.

She closed her eyes and a small smile adorned her flushed face, it felt so nice to feel those reverberating chuckles on his firm chest, up so close.

Naruto couldn't help but feel the warmth in his chest when he had seen her watch him with those pink and puffy cheeks, and her half sleepy eyes. Her hair was completely messed up and sprawled across her back, giving him ample work to brush them, that he was more than glad to take care of.

He pressed his lips over her head and rubbed her arm softly. He let out a soft smile when she cuddled up to him tightly at his little tender gesture.

"Sleep well princess?" he asked in a soft whisper, and she loved the affection his voice held, whenever he talked to her like that.

"Mm-hmm." she hummed softly, not being able to make out any coherent answer at that moment of time. It had been so long since someone had held her so lovingly while she slept. Not since…

She clenched her eyes shut in anguish, and pushed back the depressing thoughts out. She turned her eyes up to see his face, only to smile when she saw him with his own eyes closed and a small smile on his face.

His hands were working on her hair of their own accord, and she loved those tender touches he was giving her right now. She leaned up slowly and brought her face close to his, her soft pink lips tickling his teasingly. She watched his eyes open slowly and pressed them tightly for a small peck.

She broke off before he could kiss her back, and watched his eyes now looking at her with a torrent of emotions. She squealed softly, when he flipped her over and was completely on top of her, covering her small body intimidatingly, like a tiger hovering over his prey.

She watched his eyes that were piercing her own shy violet pearls. For the first time, she saw how beautiful they were like this. They were flickering with emotions, showing his heart to her. Her small hands fisted his shirt tightly on instinct, feeling his deep and low breaths, he was releasing through her sweaty palms.

She saw him looking at her lips for a moment before he was staring back into her eyes. For Naruto, she had triggered his buried lust he was trying to control with that gentle kiss. He was barely holding back when he saw her smile and nod, as if she had read what he wanted in his heart.

Naruto wasn't the most patient one in the world, and he proved it by capturing her lips hungrily and loved how her slender arms slid across his neck instantly. Her fingers ran through his silky locks, and her back arched as he was kissing her so passionately and lovingly it made her heart soar in pure ecstasy.

For Naruto, he was going to devour those cherry pink lips as he sucked and pressed his lips onto hers tightly. Her back arched in a soft moan, making his mind go blank when he tilted his head slightly and opened his mouth, only to cover her small lips with his own and give them a soft suckle.

She opened her own while tilting her own head the other side and his tongue slid in immediately. She tried to keep up with him, but failed miserably with her innocent attempts, while he ravished her warm cavern to his complete satisfaction.

She danced her tongue around his, trying to make an attempt when she felt his arm wrap protectively around her arched back, and pull her close tightly, to press her front flushed against his, without an inch of a gap between them.

Finally, the need for air became too much for them, and they broke off with a slick and wet noise. Mito gasped for air and panted, Naruto doing the same as he hid his face in her neck and nuzzled his nose in her hair.

She hugged him close, and brushed the back of his head like a new born child while both panted to regain their breaths. Mito was completely flushed, even if it was only her second kiss, she had felt how passionate he was about her. And she loved it, absolutely loved it.

Naruto took in the vanilla scent of her hair and was having a hard time keeping himself in check. He knew another kiss like that, and he would be all over her until she was screaming his name in complete ecstasy, until her toes were curling in the pleasure he give her right there and then. But he wouldn't do that to her, especially not to her, he promised himself.

Not yet.

He flipped her around and laid her on himself. She hugged him tightly and was smiling with a huge blush on her cheeks.

" _Kami! That was out of this world!"_ she squealed inwardly, when she felt him push her to the side and lay her down gently on the pillow. She was completely confused, when he sat up by the bedside and leaned down to strap his sandals on. Her heart twisted in worry at his sudden change in reactions.

"Naruto, did I do something wrong?" she asked softly, with a bitten lip. She saw him turn his head to her and give her a smile while flicking his head to a slight tilt. She blushed at the small motion that made his hair flail near his eyes.

" _He looks so cute…"_ she thought lovingly, as his fingers caught her chin and he pressed his lips on her forehead.

"You are so beautiful princess that it isn't even fair, but I should leave now. One more kiss like that, and I won't be able to hold back anymore." he said honestly and stood up. She reached out her hand on instinct and caught the back of his shirt.

She honestly didn't know why she had done that. She didn't want him to stop, but she knew she wasn't ready for such a large step yet. She placed a small kiss on his cheek, and watched his curious eyes staring at her questioningly.

"Thank you." she said softly, and he nodded with a smile. He rubbed her cheek with the back of his fingers in a soft and tender manner, before he stood up and walked to the window. She clutched her pillow tightly to her chest like a little child, when he slid it open and flicked out one of his three pronged kunais in his fingers.

He channeled pure and concentrated wind chakra, completely covering it's blade with it, making it hum slightly. He flicked it by the ring between his first two fingers, straight towards the direction of his own hotel room.

Mito was confused at his strange actions, when he turned to her and gave her a classic lazy two fingered salute with a wink, and fell back the window suddenly.

Her eyes widened in horror as her heart skipped a beat, and she ran to the window with a stumble, her worried eyes staring down at the empty ground and she sighed in relief that he wasn't hurt. She realized what had happened and instead of being angry, this time she let out a soft giggle, already used to his antics by now.

" _That baka…"_ she thought happily and fell on her bed face first, giggling uncontrollably and hitting her fists on it childishly, while waving her feet in the air like a schoolgirl.

* * *

 _ **~~~Hotel Room...**_

* * *

Naruto appeared on the roof of his hotel room's window in a flash of yellow and plucked the kunai he had thrown earlier, and pocketed it in his holster. He slid the window open and didn't even glance at his elder brother, who was having his early dose of tea on the table. He went straight for his bed and fell down on it, his arms crossed behind his head and his eyes staring at the ceiling. He let out a soft sigh when Madara finally spoke up.

"So I guess you tried, but she didn't give in I assume… With that sighing and all?" he asked curiously, but was surprised when the blonde wasn't riled up in the slightest. That was unusual, he thought inwardly and watched a small smile light up the blonde's face that made his curiosity double up.

"No, not her Madara Nii-san, she isn't a one time fling for me. She's more, a lot more." he whispered in a longing voice, and Madara sipped his tea again and closed his eyes.

The boy was totally smitten with her from what he could see. The boy was a master at seduction and when it came to bedding women; there was no one better, his charm had been used before by him before and he knew if he wanted to, that girl would have gone all the way. That is, had he wanted to.

" _He's actually serious about this…"_ he thought tiredly, and put his cup down. The boy was great at giving him new headaches all the time, he would have gray hair quite soon if this went on any longer.

He hadn't believed the boy until now, but now he knew what he felt about the girl completely. He stood up and walked to his bedside, sitting down on it while Naruto made some space for him to be comfortable. Madara stretched his legs on his bed, and sat silently with his little brother in the same position as before.

"Naruto you do know that the Senju and Uzumaki clans have had strong relations since the old time in the past?" he asked in his stoic voice and the blonde said nothing, but Madara knew he was hearing him with all ears.

"And I know you know in your heart that, what the two clans will propose to solidify the alliance between the villages… is something that will involve her." he continued on, to get him to understand the logic of the path he was walking on. Madara sighed tiredly, when he saw his little brother unusually quiet and spelled it out for him.

"The villages will propose that the Heir and Heiress to the strongest clans amongst the two villages be wed, to make the alliance a symbol between Konoha and Uzu." he stated logically, to make his brother see reason, before he was hurt because of this stupid goose chase.

Naruto said nothing and Madara was getting a little worried inwardly. It was really unlikely for Naruto to stay silent and serious for so long.

"Madara Nii-san, tell me one thing." he asked suddenly, and Madara's stoic onyx eyes stared into his calm baby blues.

"Who is the strongest clan in Konohagakure no sato?" he asked suddenly in a rarely serious voice, making Madara open his mouth to answer but pursed his lips shut after a moment wordlessly. For the second time in three days, he was at a loss of words.

He knew the answer to that question was a scandal in itself. The Senju now overpowered them in pure numbers, but the Uchiha clan still made it a close gap by their sheer skill and battle prowess. And that was without saying how revered their Kekkei genkai was among the world, along with their dangerous reputation built over the years.

He saw the small smirk on Naruto's face, and couldn't help but smirk himself. Now he saw where his foolish brother was going with this.

"So I guess you want a new alliance between Konoha and Uzu by allying the Uchiha and the Uzumaki clans?" he asked stoically, with a hint of appreciation for his keen and deceptive thinking. Naruto merely smirked and said nothing, letting the man put the pieces together like he knew he would.

"Now wouldn't that be something?" Naruto asked playfully, and Madara's smirked widened ever so slightly.

"Now that would be something else indeed." he answered stoically, and now his mind was churning it's gears wildly. Their clan would be strengthened so much by the alliance, and it will become a crucial part of the village as soon as the pact was signed. All the worries he had in his heart, about the Uchiha being pushed to the side, would be laid down instantly since they would hold a large political influence, almost double the one they already held right nowa among the Fire Lord's courts.

And the village was looking for an alliance by any means necessary. It wasn't signed anywhere by anyone, that it had to be the Senju who allied themselves with the Uzumaki to form an alliance. It was merely the most logical choice there was after their long shared past together. But new bonds would do them both good, after all both clans could gain a lot from joining up as one from this new alliance.

He had to do a lot of thinking and planning to pull of something like that, but there was something that was absolutely needed for this all to work.

"Naruto?" he asked and the blonde hummed softly, merely showing that he was listening to the man.

"You do realize what this means right? Are you really that serious about it. Marriage isn't a small matter, and you have only known her for a few days. How do you know she loves you or you do the same for her?" he asked seriously, and Naruto sat up and stared at him back with double the seriousness his own onyx eyes held.

"She loves me, I know it. She has fallen for me and I have fallen for her, I promise you by the time we leave here in a couple of weeks, we'll be a couple who will be completely unbreakable." he said in a completely confident voice, making Madara fall silent at his claim.

The blonde wasn't one to boast pridefully or arrogantly about anything, that much he knew. But this was big, too big. Even for him.

He stared at him seriously, to see how much he meant it and was happy when he saw the same seriousness in the blonde's eyes.

Finally, he broke the stare off and put his hand on the blonde's head gently, making his baby blue eyes look at him innocently like a child.

"Alright don't worry, I'll take care of all the political sways. If you really want this so much, then I guess we can make it happen. I'm sure Hashirama wouldn't mind this one bit too, and the clans gain a lot from it too. But don't be too hell bent on it if it doesn't work out alright and come to me whenever there is even a slightest bit of problem with you, you hear me? Do not take any foolish steps like you always do and then not come to me for help." he asked seriously, and Naruto nodded, instantly hugging his brother tightly with a huge smile. Madara patted is back a couple of times and the blonde broke off with a stupid infectious grin that made him smirk himself.

"Alright then I'll be off, I have a lot more work now thanks to you." he muttered in annoyance, making the blonde chuckle at his predicament.

"You deserve ir anyways, for always being such a bastard." he said pointedly, making Madara frown.

"Now that I think about it, a Senju-Uzumaki alliance will be quite a lot easier…" he muttered to himself, and Naruto was clutching his waist childishly with horror stricken eyes.

"Oh come on don't be such a bastard, I didn't mean it!" he shouted pleading pathetically, and Madara crossed his arms and huffed.

"Doesn't sound like it…" he muttered, when he saw the same puppy dog eyes of his brother he hated so much.

"Please?" he asked softly, and Madara sighed. Now how could he say no to that?

"Alright alright…" he said tiredly, and Naruto grinned and fell down on his bed happily. Madara walked out and was about to close the door, when he heard the blonde mutter something softly and channeled chakra into his ears to listen in.

"But he is still a bastard!" he heard the soft whisper and frowned.

"Senju-Uzumaki it is…" he said finally, and the blonde's eyes widened and his jaw dropped comically at being caught.

"OH COME ON! I DIDN'T MEAN IT!" he heard the shout when he clicked the door close with a chuckle and shook his head, completely amused.

"That idiot." he muttered in annoyance, and went ahead to the Uzumaki Tower with new set of plans in his mind. He had a lot of political maneuverings and manipulations to handle over the net few days.

* * *

 _ **~~~A few hours later…**_

* * *

Naruto walked around the colorful village, his hands tucked in his pockets, and a thoughtful expression on his face. He had a date in the evening and quite frankly he had never had an official date before. If one night stands didn't count as dates that is…

He stopped in front of a pawn shop and blinked. Maybe they had something that would click to him. After all a guy must gift something to a girl on a date right? And he hadn't seen a thing that was good enough for his princess. Flowers and chocolates sounded stupid to him and he wasn't going to gift her shinobi supplies, so that was out too.

He walked in and saw a happy looking old guy there. He smiled back at the store owner who was giving him a welcoming smile.

"What can I do for you young man?" he asked warmly, and Naruto looked across his shelves through various objects. His eyes roamed around the shop, but he didn't see anything to suit his princess.

"Well I can help you, if you are looking for something specific that is…" he said again in a helping manner, and this time the blonde considered taking his help.

"I'm looking for a present to gift my princess. It is our first date." he said honestly, and the man smiled whole heartedly.

"A princess you say? Then I might have just the thing…" he said in excitement, and Naruto rose an eyebrow but smiled when the man ran out to the back excitedly. Naruto heard some curses and mutters, and couldn't help but chuckle as heard the sounds of things being thrown about comically.

Finally, the man came back, dusting off a small jewelry box in his palms. Naruto rose an eyebrow thinking it was a ring when the man handed the box to him.

"Umm I'm not sure if she would consider a ring a nice present on our first date…" he said a little uncertainly, eyeing the box a little warily right now.

" _Though I sure as hell won't mind…"_ he thought with a smirk. The man though grinned, confusing the blonde Uchiha a bit.

"Oh no no my boy, that isn't a ring. Go on open it up." he urged the blonde and Naruto nodded hesitantly. He clicked the black box open and his eyes widened momentarily.

He picked up the small dangling earring in his fingers gently.

It was so beautiful, it's center had a large sapphire that was no doubt real from what he could appraise, and studded with little diamonds all around it forming a small yet elegant Leaf like pattern.

" _Kami it's so beautiful, well not as beautiful as her…"_ he thought with an afterthought, looking at the sparkling piece of jewelry in a smile of appraisal. He was one to see and praise fine craftsmanship, and this sure as hell was a masterpiece.

"Where's the other one?" he asked curiously, putting the piece on his palm but didn't take his eyes off of it. He did though, when the owner laughed slightly, making him raise an eyebrow at his peculiar behavior to his almost quite simple question.

"That my boy is the last piece of jewelry, from a long line of artisans found in the lost clan of Hozuro, the master craftsman's of peculiar ornaments that used to reside in the Land of Stars." he answered and now Naruto was even more interested in the piece. He had heard about that lost clan and knew of their work's fame.

" _It is as exquisite as her…"_ he pondered and looked at the man seriously.

"How much?" Naruto asked seriously and the man's smile vanished. He stepped out from behind the counter, and put the 'CLOSE' sign over the door. Naruto watched the strange old man curiously walk back to the counter and pull out a piece of paper, and scribbled something on it furiously after sweating a bit in thought. He finally pushed the slip to Naruto and he read it.

His heart dropped when he read the figure, and his eyes widened as he watched the earring a bit horrified now.

" _THAT MUCH!"_ he screamed inwardly. Even with a year of his savings, which was a lot by the way, seeing the kind of missions he took, he wouldn't even make half price over it. But he would buy it anyways.

"Do you take Fire Daimyo's bonds?" he asked innocently, and cried anime tears inwardly when the man nodded with a bright smile.

" _Madara-Nii is going to kill me for this!"_ he thought worriedly and sighed when the man nodded accepting his money and bonds, making his wallet now have nothing more than thin air in it right now.

He walked out and saw how much time he had taken to find a gift, that the sun was setting already. He was glad that Mito was bringing some food made by her own hands, because he was now utterly and completely broke. He grazed his fingers on the box in his pocket and sighed.

" _No more expensive food from now on for a…well a while…"_ he thought tiredly, and sighed when he entered the grounds he had first met his girl.

He was surprised when he saw Mito underneath the same cherry tree he had pinned her against, already there with a small blanket spread out and a picnic basket by her side, fiddling with her kimono nervously.

His breath hitched when he focused on her, she wasn't in one of those noble kimono's. instead was in a white battle kimono that left her milky thighs open to some air and tonight, and he was quite glad for that. It's helm had a yellow floral patter swirling around in a wavy pattern, accentuating her crimson hair held by her right shoulder, coming so beautifully on her lap she had tucked by her side adorably.

" _Kami she's worth it…"_ he thought breathlessly, when he saw her smile shyly as soon as she met his eyes and tucked a lock behind her ear purposefully, making him gulp. He walked to her side and pushed the basket a little to the side, and instantly pulled her in for a small and gentle peck on her lips.

She blushed prettily and looked at him innocently, when she saw the longing look on his face.

"You look beautiful princess, absolutely gorgeous. For a moment there, you took my breath away…" he whispered in a sincere voice, and watched her face turn a new shade of pink at his heartfelt comment. She averted her eyes to the side shyly in embarrassment making him smile at her adorable reaction.

He cupped her cheek and rubbed her left ear, that she had uncovered by tucking her crimson locks behind it and tickled it making her shy away and giggle cutely, feeling so ticklish and embarrassed.

"I have just the thing to make you look like an angel from Kami's realm herself…" he said softly, and put the box in her hands and closed her fingers on it. She looked down at the jewelry box in her hand, before opening it and her eyes widened in shock.

" _It's so pretty!"_ she squealed, before narrowing her eyes at the blonde who squirmed nervously at her accusing stare.

"How much did you spend on it Naruto?" she asked sternly, and he chuckled nervously and rubbed his neck in his own nervous tick. He knew she would refuse it the moment he told her the true price, but he wanted to see it accentuate her beauty even more and always have a thing to remember him by.

A lie it was since there was another reason he wanted her to have it.

"It's really an imitation. I couldn't find anything for you after searching so long, but finally got this in a pawn shop. I mean look at it, it's so pretty and they only had one left, I couldn't even find a pair, it was so damn popular." he lied smoothly, and she kept her narrowed eyes but his face gave nothing away, before she broke into a soft smile and nodded.

"It's really pretty…" she said softly, touching it gently with her finger in a gentle poke. Even if it was a fake, it was the thought that mattered to her. She was going to wear it always, no matter what. Naruto took it in his fingers and pulled her face in his hand, cupping it gently.

"May I my lady?" he asked playfully, making her giggle and nod cutely.

"Hai, you may my loyal servant…" she played along, and he chuckled himself with a nod. Glad that she was playing along.

"Whatever the princess says, the princess gets…" he said completing the game, and clicked it in her ear. He flicked it gently and watched it dangle from her ear with a little frown. It was sparkling so brightly in the sunlight of dusk falling upon it, making a small gleam of blue give off it's large sapphire in the middle.

She grew worried when he frowned and clutched her hands near her heart.

"Is something wrong?" she asked nervously, thinking she might be looking stupid to him with it. He brought a finger to his chin and hummed in thought.

"No it looks nice and all but…" he trailed off hesitantly, making her bite her lip and small tears prickled her eyes at the corners.

" _I must be looking so stupid…"_ she thought feeling like crying there and then, and clenched her eyes shut to hear some snide remark when Naruto leaned down near her ear with the earring and nibbled it in his teeth, making her gasp with wide eyes.

"Nearly not as pretty as my princess…" he whispered in a sexy and playful voice, making her blush and pull him into a bone crushing hug.

"Baka, I was so scared, do you always have to be so so…" he scolded him heatedly and he chuckled happily much to her annoyance.

"So so cute?…" he teased her and she nodded sagely with a smile.

"Hai cute!…" she squeaked out innocently, before realizing what she had said and glared at the blonde who was holding his sides in laughter at her innocence. She tried to be angry at him, but instead let out a giggle before breaking out into a fit of them, and joining him in laughing her heart out.

Their laughs rang throughout the clearing as she tried to hit his arms with her fists while the blonde was trying to pry her off of him playfully, but took her gentle hits gladly that didn't hurt him in the slightest. Both stopped laughing after a moment, and tried to catch their breaths when Mito put her head on his chest, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders happily.

"Thank you." she said softly, and he smiled and hugged her back, kissing her head softly.

"Never thank me princess." he whispered and a bright smile adorned her lips, as she bobbed her head up and down on his chest in agreement quite cutely.

"Now what had my majesty prepared to eat, for thou loyal servant?" he asked playfully, making her giggle yet again at his playfulness that she just couldn't get enough of. He always filled her heart with joy, and a smile was always on her face as long as he was with her.

He always kept her on her toes but she never felt scared with him, instead quite the opposite. She felt safe and loved with him, always smiling and laughing her heart out. It was a strange and warm sensation to her, but she loved it all the more than before now.

Her hands picked the basket up, and opened it to bring out two bentos and a thermos of some of their special blend of tea out. Naruto opened his own up ,before looking at the box full of exquisite seafood, the specialties of the Land of Whirlpools all packed into one box.

He smiled at his princess gratefully, who blushed and handed him a cup of tea, while both ate making small talk, before the sun started to settle down and Naruto put his back against the tree and pulled her back to his chest, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind.

She smiled as he sat her between his legs, and put his chin on her shoulder, both nuzzling their cheeks with each other playfully and laughing at their own childlike antics a moment later. Both smiled softly watching the sun set and the waterfall shine a bright orange in it's brilliance.

Naruto stared at her childlike smile and the way she had clutched her hands near her heart to show everyone how happy she was and he wanted to just look at her forever like that. She didn't catch his stare and loved how he was rubbing her stomach gently to make her feel warm and fuzzy down there.

A cool evening breeze blew past them making her shiver, as Naruto closed the distance between them completely and hid her in his arms. He picked the spare blanket in the basket up and covered both their bodies in it, as they snuggled and cuddled to enjoy each other's warmth together.

Both gazed amazed, when the fireflies came out and danced over the water's surface making it quite a majestic sight to behold. Naruto had curled her up in a ball while tucking his arms under her thighs and his chest supporting her back as he kissed her neck every so often with soft butterfly kisses and loved how she failed miserably to pull him off in embarrassment, and instead let out soft moans that made her all the more embarrassed each time. Finally, she spoke up to break the comfortable silence that had settled between them for quite a while now.

"Naruto let's tell each other about our lives. We need to get to know each other a little more right?" she asked curiously, and he kissed her cheek with a soft smile.

"Right." he said with a nod and she smiled happily herself.

"So what would you like to know?" He asked in a gentle voice, while she hummed in thought.

"How about we tell each other about out families first?" she chirped in a happy voice, and he couldn't help but smile at how she always warmed his heart with it unknowingly to herself.

"Okay, you go first then princess." he said playfully and she nodded with a bright smile.

"Well I have a small family. My father you already know about Ryouta Uzumaki. We belong to the royal family of our clan, and have been entrusted the duty to lead our clan to peaceful times through centuries of tradition. My mother's name was Aiko Uzumaki, she died when I was five giving birth to my little brother Akihiko…" she said sadly and Naruto picked up on the hint of sadness in her voice in an instant, and the fact that he hadn't seen this Akihiko ever since he had come to this village.

"I'm sorry…" he said softly, and gave her a squeeze of reassurance. She smiled and nodded, wiping the small tear prickling her eyes and smiled a small smile at him.

"Now your turn." she said with a smile, and he nodded knowing it already.

"My father was Tajima Uchiha…" he said blankly, and she noted how blankly he was speaking about him. "… he was the clan head of the Uchiha clan, as you could probably already guess. My family is a little more complicated than yours…" he trailed off slightly, making her look at him a little confusedly. He picked up on it and pecked her cheek and continued on.

"You see princess, our clan has always been involved in violence and combat for centuries. Quite unlike the Uzumaki's, who have isolated themselves peacefully in these serene islands and cut themselves from conflict. You make your living through the naturally found resources you cultivate on these lands, or your hidden sealing skills that have been passed down through centuries within your clan, so your families have adapted to it as it is. But the Uchiha's and Senju's have been conflicting clans for centuries you see. Until a few years ago, when we finally settled our differences for a solution to find peace by laying the foundation of our own hidden village, Konohagakure no sato…" he explained like a teacher, and she nodded with a new childlike realization. She hadn't quite seen the world, always being groomed as an heiress, but now she could firsthand listen to an outsider's life in detail rather than reading about it in books with superficial information. She gave him her rapt attention as he spoke on undeterred.

"So our clan have always had the customs of having many children in quick successions, since the death count has always been high. Unlike the Uzumaki's, our clans became so involved in the warring disputes over whose clans gets more missions, or land disputes or rather any disputes, that we were pushed to a really hard state. It became so bloody in recent times, that children who were old enough to hold a sword were thrust out into fights for their clans. Most of our clan's children never even got to enjoy the taste of sake, before they were sacrificed in the name of the great Uchiha clan…" he explained slowly, making her stomach drop a bit from his words.

For the first time, she could now see how bad it really must have been for them. But a question popped in her mind at that point.

"How old were you when you were sent out?" she asked softly, making him smile at her concerned voice.

"I don't quite remember clearly, but probably I was seven or eight back then…" he said sadly, making her eyes widen in shock. She hadn't even started learning sealing at that age for crying out loud!

He chuckled looking at her stunned face, and nudged his nose with her cheek playfully.

"The world isn't as bright as it seems, now is it princess?" he asked playfully, but she could sense the hint of sadness now in his voice. What it must have felt to have lost his childhood like that, she couldn't imagine. She kissed his cheek and he smiled at her reassuringly and continued on.

"Hmm now where was I? Right, family…so my father now you already know, but my father married a clanswoman from our clan who was a kunoichi herself. She had five sons before she passed away in labor…" he explained and Mito was a little confused. He hadn't referred to her as mother, or shown any emotion for his father for that matter, until now.

"Taji Uchiha, Madara Uchiha, Izuna Uchiha, Eiji Uchiha, and Taiko Uchiha. They were the five sons of the clan head of the Uchiha clan, and my father Tajima Uchiha…" he explained, making her eyes widen in shock.

"But what about you Naruto?" she asked suddenly, and he chuckled softly and pecked her lips to make her silent.

"I was getting to that princess. You see in the clan wars, five of my brother's were thrust into the warring clans and three of them were killed in action, with Madara-Nii and Izuna- Nii, the only ones to be left alive. My father had an affair with a simple civilian woman, while he stayed there for three months and left her when he had to go back. But what he didn't know was the she became pregnant…" he explained and she nodded, realization dawning on her.

"She became pregnant with you…" she whispered softly, and he nodded in affirmative.

"My mother raised me like a normal civilian child would, until I was five. She was a simple baker, and we made a simple living. I used to be the same goofy and happy blonde back then when one day some shinobi raided our house for supplies. She told them to take whatever they wanted, but in the scuffle, she was wounded fatally and died while trying to hide me from them. I saw her die right there, in front of my own eyes while I sat there crying my heart out, and that was the first time I activated these…" he explained blankly, as his eyes blazed to a bloody crimson and tomoes spun in them calmly, before reverting back to their normal baby blues.

She had wide eyes at hearing this. She had read a lot about the rumors of the Sharingan, and she had heard one about how they were activated in a an Uchiha.

"The trauma that triggered your Sharingan, the eyes that show it's bearers heartiest emotions…" she whispered breathlessly, surprising him that she knew of that.

"You know a lot about these eyes I must say, but anyways those shinobi seeing this captured me as seeing a chance to breed the Uchiha's revered kekkei genkai in their own clans members through me. So they abducted me…" he explained, making her shocked once more.

"News of a child, holding the same eyes as the most infamous of the two oldest clans reached my father's ears. He took out a contingent of Uchiha's, and raided their grounds, killing anyone between me and him. Infiltrating me out of there, and pulling me into the Uchiha grounds so that our bloodline may be kept secure within our walls." he explained and she took it all in silently. She had never imagined he had such a dark past with him with the way he always acted, but only now did she see the pain and suffering behind that cheerful and happy personality he donned always over his face.

She just absorbed it all like a sponge, and sat silently to hear his tale that was slipping past his lips. Naruto hadn't thought about his past in quite some time now, and let out a tired sigh but continued on.

"So I was trained in the basic shinobi skills by Madara-Nii and Izuna-Nii for a little time. But life wasn't really simple for me like everyone in my clan…" he said and she was now quite confused, which he picked up on and smiled at her innocence about the true nature of shinobi clans.

"You see I wasn't a pure blooded Uchiha, nor was I a child of two shinobi parents as was the custom in our clans. Either our clansmen married a shinobi with a shinobi or a civilian living Uchiha with the same and the children were kept in our clan's protection to preserve the bloodline in our own clan and not lose it to someone else. It has been practiced for generations and generations now since only a rare few ever activate the Shairngan in our clan." he explained and she nodded slowly, still not seeing his point. Naruto smiled seeing her lost look and loved how naive she was, quite unlike him.

"But I was an exception, a mix breed so as to speak. My blood wasn't pure in the eyes of my clansmen, with my father the clan head and my mother who just had an affair with him for a short time and was a lowly civilian woman. I was ostracized as a bastard child in my clan…" he said with a low chuckle, making her look at him in horror. How could someone ostracize someone like him? He just looked ahead at the waterfall with a sadness filled gaze remembering those time of his past and continued on.

"Even my father wasn't quite fond of me, for I had made quite a lot of trouble for him. He was being given less and less respect for his actions because of me, and a long line of tradition in our clan had been broken for which I was a symbol of. But they couldn't throw me out or get rid of me that easily, since I had the eyes of our ancestors that my clan has always been so proud of…" he explained and she was now just lost in his eyes that were fixated with a small sad smile on the shining water, right now in a trance as he relived his past memories once more after such a long time. They looked so dull instead of their usually sparkling counterparts, that it made her heart ache in agony. It didn't suit him at all in her mind. He was supposed to be happy, not this.

"To my father too, as much as he despised me. I was a tool with powerful eyes that could be of quite some value to the clan out on the battlefield, even if it was just as a human shield." he explained and she said nothing, though she bit her lip to stop herself from crying. Then she saw a small happy smile light up his face.

"But there were two who treated me like family amongst all my clansmen. To Madara-Nii and Izuna-Nii, Kami-sama had returned them a brother for the three she had taken from them before, and they were quite protective of me. To them, I was their little adorable brother, that they tried to spoil as much as they could after our training was done. We loved each other the most and were quite close to each other, Izuna-Nii was the subject of most of my pranks in those days…" he reminisced happily with a chuckle, and she smiled a little happy sad smile with shimmering eyes hearing his tale herself. Just that little happiness ad those couple of bonds meant so much to him she mused sadly but a little happily as well.

"But…" he said making her smile disappear, as well as his own. "…my father decided after a year, that I was now quite ready to be thrown onto the battlefield. Madara-Nii and Izuna-Nii tried to pretest, but he admonished them saying I already had the Sharingan in it's second stage and to become the useful tool I was, by helping the clan on the warring fronts." he said making her clench his kimono shirt in her fists, as she laid her head down on his shoulder and cuddled in his arms. He hugged her and tucked her in his arms in a snuggling position, to keep her warm from the cold outside their little warm blanket.

Both were far too engrossed in each other right now to even notice or care about the time or place they were in.

"So they sent me out into the battlefield and I fought as I was told on missions for our clan. Madara-Nii or Izuna-Nii were always there with me, taking out time to always be by my side on missions to make sure I wasn't hurt. But soon they realized I really wasn't meant for the battlefields…" he said softly, and she looked up into his sad eyes in confusion. They looked so pained and anguished, with so many flickering emotions as he remembered the blood stained battlefields that he had seen as a child, which he just couldn't forget no matter how much he wanted to.

"I completed missions of infiltration and stealth perfectly, I was nice at gathering information or planting traps for enemies to slow them down in their pursuits in missions. But there was one crucial thing that I wasn't built for…" he said in a whisper, and she kept her violet eyes on him worriedly.

"I just couldn't kill…" he whispered sadly, and a lone tear rolled down her left eye as she saw his own bitten lip of agony. She knew he was holding his emotions back, and squeezed him tightly for assuring him that she was with him now. He hugged her back gratefully, and took a deep breath to continue his tale and hold back his mask again.

"My mother had told me the value that life held, ever since I could understand her teachings and how killing lead to more killing. Hatred bred even more hatred, before it consumed them all and there was nothing left but pain. She told me loss and suffering gave rise to even more hatred, and they in turn hurt even more people. So if no one hurt the others heart's, one day true peace could be achieved. She made me promise her, to value the life that Kami bestowed to everything in this world and I promised her, so I tried to keep it as much as I could. But the days of my childhood were over then." he said softly, making her realize how cruel the outside world really was, but Naruto was far from finished. He had only yet begun his true tale that she was about to hear.

"That was unbearable to my father. I was bringing him shame like no other, since Madara or Izuna-Nii had to cover for me every time I hesitated in finishing off a downed opponent. They never told about it to him, but other clan members on the mission did, and finally one day he called me and Madara-Nii to say that he had had enough." he whispered, and she looked up at him with wide eyes, wondering what he had meant by that.

"He told Madara-Nii to go out of the room, and that he would teach me a lesson that would finally make me understand the true nature of who I really was and what I was to do. Madara-Nii protested, but he was pushed out by force and we were left alone in there. He took the clan's heritaged sword that I carry these days, and put in the fire place." he whispered and clenched his eyes, remembering what had happened next. Mito was confused as to what he was going to tell her, the thing that pained him so much when he spoke up to answer her doubts completely truthfully.

"He told me to take my shirt off. I was scared, so I told him I was sorry, but he tore it off and made me sit on my knees forcefully. He picked the red hot blade up from the fireplace, and put on the edge over the skin of of my shoulder…" he whispered softly, making her eyes widen and fill up to the brim with tears with a gasp, her hands now covering her mouth.

"He cleaved it down hard and left a burning scar on my back. I screamed in agony and Madara-Nii banged and pushed the door harshly, but could do nothing but scream my name and cry himself as my screams of agony echoed in our house. I almost lost consciousness from the pain, but my father picked me up by my hair, and told me that each time I disobeyed an order to kill someone, and bring even more shame to him like a bastard like me already had, he would give me a matching scar to the one he had given me that night, as punishment for disobeying him each time." he whispered, and she was horrified realizing what those scars meant now and what he was about to say which she wished for the life of her that it wasn't what she expected it to be.

"For five weeks I disobeyed him, for five weeks I didn't kill anyone. He gave me a scar each night, eighteen times to be exact…" he whispered sadly with pained eyes, and she clutched his chest tightly and cried her heart out. He just smiled sadly, and held the crying girl in his arms. He cupped her cheeks and kissed her tears away, giving her a small and apologetic smile.

"I'm so sorry, I ruined your mood on our first date princess, I'm such an idiot…" was all he could say, before she shushed him up by putting her fingers on his lips and looked at him with teary eyes. How strong was his will that he didn't shed a lone tear after putting that horrific tale in words ,and still smiled and said he was sorry to make her cry?

"You idiot…I'm not angry, I'm happy you opened your heart to me…but how can you not shed a tear even after saying all that? That's why I have to do it for you, you baka…" she whispered and he merely pulled her into his chest, and kissed her head softly like always. He was glad he had found her like he had and he wasn't letting her go anytime soon.

"Shedding tears makes you forget everything you have been through. It is those things, that have made me who I am princess, and the person who you know right now. And who would hold you together if I cried like you, huh?" he asked with a small playful voice, making her giggle and hit his chest in sobs.

"You idiot…you made me snort like a pig…by making me laugh in sobs…" she scolded him with sniffles, and he laughed softly and kissed her forehead making her smile, and wiped her puffy face with his sleeves.

"Making you cry on my first date, what kind of a guy am I?" he asked gently, and she smiled and put her forehead against his and gazed deep into his eyes with all the love she could muster.

"You are a baka…" she whispered softly with a giggle, and he watched her with a loving smile as she pecked him softly and put her face in his neck, making her warm breath tickle his sensitive skin.

"But you're my baka from now on, you understand that?" she asked sternly, and he nodded with a chuckle.

"Yes I do Mito, I'm your baka from now on. Forever and ever." he said happily and she nodded with a giggle.

"Good…" she whispered and let out a small cute yawn. Naruto looked up to see the moon overhead and rose an eyebrow.

" _Midnight already? Time sure does fly by when I'm with my princess…"_ he thought, feeling her breathing soften slightly as she yawned cutely once more in quick succession.

"Naru, I'm so sleepy. Please take me home…" she whispered sleepily, before her eyes drooped in sleepy blinks and he nodded, pulling the blanket off and wrapping her in it completely, to hide her from the cold air.

"Alright just hold on princess…" he said softly, making her nod slowly as he scooped the cute girl wrapped up in a blanket like an infant in his arms, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and put her cheek on his chest with a smile.

"I'll hold on…" she whispered, before falling asleep completely and he walked out of the training grounds with the crimson blanketed bundle wrapped up in his arms. Naruto walked through the empty streets slowly, not jumping on rooftops so as to not wake up the adorable girl in his arms from her soft slumber. He looked down at her serene face, and couldn't help but smile.

" _You really are a special girl Mito. I won't let you go no matter what, I promise…"_ he thought and kissed her lips softly, making her smile in her sleep and snuggle in his arms a little more. He walked into her estate and stood in front of her house's door with a smile. He knocked on it gently with his foot, and heard stumbling footsteps make their way to the door hurriedly.

Ryouta opened the door and was surprised to see the younger Uchiha standing there. But then he saw the red bundled blanket in his arms, and his eyes widened to see his daughter sleeping there peacefully with worried eyes.

He had been worried sick when his daughter hadn't returned and was about to call a search party to look for her, before his door was knocked. He looked at Naruto with worried eyes who gave him a reassuring smile.

"She is quite alight Uzumaki-sama. No need to worry." he said and the man sighed in relief, before moving aside and allowing him in. Naruto followed Ryouta through the halls and straight to Mito's room, before he laid her down on her bed and tucked her in, after pulling off her shinobi sandals gently off her feet.

He saw how adorable she looked, and how much he had fallen for the girl to even tell her of his childhood completely and honestly in such a short time with her. He was glad he had stopped where he had, since the next parts were a bit too much for a girl like her to handle right now. He ran his fingers on her cheek softly, and smiled when she leaned in and snuggled in them with a smile, completely forgetting about the pair of eyes watching him from the side, quite curious and guarded at his tender actions.

Ryouta walked out with Naruto in tow, as the men ushered him in the living room and sat him on the cushion, while handing him a glass of water. Naruto took it gratefully with a smile and knew, now would come the question from the father of the girl he loved.

"Am I to believe that my daughter was with you the whole time tonight, Naruto-san?" he asked blankly, making Naruto nod in affirmative.

"Yes she was, I asked her out for a dinner and we lost track of time." he said honestly, and Ryouta nodded a little happy at his honest reply. At least the boy was completely blunt like a hammer, so it would go a lot easier.

"What happened between you and my daughter ,if I may ask?" he asked bluntly, and Naruto knew what he was asking of him and what he wanted to know really.

"Nothing happened between us, rest assured Uzumaki-sama. As I said, I took your daughter out for a dinner and we talked. In our conversations, we lost track of time and I brought her back like that, because she was quite sleepy at the end." he said honestly, and man nodded seeing his firm voice and sighed in relief inwardly. He knew his daughter well and trusted her too, but she was quite innocent too so he was in the right to be worried about her.

"And I am to believe that?" he asked to test him, and saw Naruto's eyes narrow in on him dangerously, instead of getting nervous like any lesser boy would have. He smirked inwardly at seeing the boy's attitude, he had the same fire in him that his clan was famous for, and he respected that a lot.

"You are." he said sternly, and Ryouta nodded taking a sip of water calmly not at all fazed by his tone in the slightest.

"I think I can safely assume you wish to court my daughter then?" he asked firmly and Naruto nodded, knowing how important this was. He surprised Ryouta by bowing his head slightly in an apology.

"I apologize for taking your daughter out without your permission, it wasn't my intention to do so, but it just slipped off me at that moment. If I may, I ask permission from you to court your daughter." he said politely and met Ryouta's serious eyes with his own.

"I see." Ryouta said calmly and pondered over it for a moment. He still had his doubts even though he liked the boy a lot, and he was of their equal standings too, along with Mito liking him if this date was any indication. Even though she harbored a resentment towards his clan, she was still willing to accept him, so that had to mean something too.

"You like my daughter then?" he asked seriously and got a nod from the blonde instantly and nodded back. "So you are attracted to…" he was cut off by the blonde instantly.

"It isn't attraction, don't downgrade my feelings towards her by using that word, I request you…" he said firmly and a ghost of a smile appeared on the old man's face.

"I see…" he said a politely as he could and Ryouta looked at the boy appraisingly. In all honesty, he had no qualms with the boy and he didn't hold any grudges against the Uchiha like his daughter did in her heart. He knew the shinobi world for what it was, and wasn't as naive as her to hold grudges against everyone who hurt them.

"You have my permission then…" he said calmly, making Naruto smile before he spoke up.

"But if you hurt my daughter…" he let the threat hanging, and Naruto couldn't help but gulp at the man that looked so intimidating right now.

" _Girl's fathers are really scary…"_ he thought and sweat dropped, when he thought about what he was thinking.

"I won't ever hurt Mito, trust me Uzumaki-sama. As long as she is with me, I won't let her get hurt I promise." he said sternly, making the man stare at him for a moment while the blonde met his stare with his own icy blue eyes, before nodding with a smile.

"Alright, it is Mito's wish if she wants to see you and I won't stop her from seeing anyone she wishes to. So, I guess you two have my blessing. But please take care of her, she is an innocent girl really…" he said warmly and Naruto nodded with a smile, already knowing how naive she could be under her nobility mask she wore in public.

"I know, and I adore her all the more for it…" he said softly, and Ryouta smiled at hearing the affection in his tone in that sentence. He was glad that his daughter had chosen someone worthy enough to see for herself and at the right time too he mused as an afterthought.

"Alright, then I guess we can talk tomorrow. It is getting quite late and we must get to bed now." he said calmly, and Naruto nodded with a smile, agreeing whole heartedly himself. The clan head walked him to the door, and Naruto turned for a final greeting before he left.

"I guess this is goodnight then, Uzumaki-sama…" he trailed off, when the man shook his head.

"It's just Ryouta-san from now on Naruto." he said in a warm voice, and Naruto nodded with a smile as both men shook hands with each other as a sign of mutual respect for each other.

"I'll see you soon Ryouta-san then, Ja Ne!" he said giving him his classic two fingered salute and a wink, before he was off leaving a chuckling Uzumaki clan head behind. He watched the white and blue blur jumping across the roof tops with a warm smile and shook his head in amusement at the blonde boy's antics.

" _Naruto Uchiha, a most interesting boy indeed."_ he thought happily, and went in his house to get some sleep after hearing this new news. He had a daughter to scare in the morning too after all! He thought with a chuckle, and closed the door to his house with a soft click.

* * *

 _ **Author's notes : There is the next chapter. Some of Naruto's childhood is revealed as well as the development in NaruMito's relationship. So I guess we'll see the rest of the progress in the further chapters. And I guess I really I am pushing some long chapters in this story right? Well I can't help my self so bear with it. I'll see you next time then, until then keep reading and reviewing Ja Ne ;)**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**~~~Naruto : Remnants of the Past~~~**_

* * *

 _ **~~~Next Morning~~~**_

* * *

Mito's nostrils twitched as the break of dawn forced her to come astir and cuddle up in her blankets even further. Now that her senses were starting to gather together, she didn't quite remember sleeping on a soft mattress; or coming home last night for that matter. Eyes snapping open, she sat up with a start and started looking around frantically.

Finally, realizing she was within the confines of her own room, the heiress heaved a sigh of relief before tiredly falling back on her comforters. Ironically, her nostrils twitched yet again as a familiar scent filled up her lungs. She collected the red blanket in her arms and took a deep whiff. Hesitantly, she pulled it even closer to her face and sure enough there it was, the lingering remains of Naruto's cologne; a scent that made her mind go numb. It smelt so nice, almost like sandalwood; so she sniffed it again, and again, and once more for good measure.

She could figure out what must have happened last night, she must have fallen asleep on the date; and her companion, being the bumbling idiot that he was, had found it prudent to haul her butt back to her room rather than wake her up and let her walk herself. Her lips quirked up in fondness before she smothered her face deeper into the fragrant bundle of wool collected in her arms.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say my wife gave birth to a cat."

" **Kya** **!** **~~~"**

Rolling opposite to where the voice had come from, Mito fell down the bed and rubbed her sore backside with a wince. "Otou-sama!" she whined pathetically, glaring down at the amused man with all her might. As dangerous as she tried to appear, her glower had absolutely no effect on the man who was more engrossed in enjoying his tea at the moment to notice her all righteous fury.

"Mito," Ryouta started, his voice gravely serious. "Where were you last night?" he asked.

Mito gulped, she hadn't heard her father be so serious in quite some time and this time she knew she was at fault. "Uh, out…?!" her mumble made him narrow his eyes on her even more, and all the while she shrunk further and further under his gaze. "I was with Naruto." she finally relented.

Ryouta forced his lips down, already knowing that fact but still proud that his daughter wasn't hiding anything from him. It served to lessen his worries even more, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to scare her even more than he already might have done.

He did have to drill in some etiquette after all.

"So, let me get this straight. You were out with a strange boy without so much as informing me, came home well over midnight snuggled in that very boy's arms. Is there anything else you might have left to tell me, Mito?"

She could sense where he was going with this, and rightly so. "N-Nothing of that sort happened." seeing his challenging eyes, she reciprocated his look with one of her own. "Really, nothing happened." she stressed tersely.

Ryouta huffed, "And I am supposed to believe that, am I right?" he taunted testily.

"You. Are."

Her strict words struck him off guard, he almost had a reminder of last night where that boy had essentially told him the same damn thing. Sighing, Ryouta got up from his chair and took a seat on her bed, gently rubbing her head with his hand. "Mito, what are you doing?" he asked, exasperated.

Last night, Ryouta had racked his mind to make sense of this new development. But for the life of him, he couldn't make out a single explanation as to why it was that Mito was tolerating Naruto, much less going out with him. He knew how she hated the very name of the Uchiha with a passion, rightfully so; then how had this situation led her here…?

The girl in question picking on the wrinkles of her bed much more interesting than meeting his eyes at the moment. "He's a nice person." she commented softly, her voice barely above a whisper. Ryouta glanced at her with worry, it came as no surprise to him that she was smitten with him; and from how he'd seen Naruto look at her last night as if she was the most precious thing in the world, he knew the feelings here were mutual.

But therein lay the problem.

"Mito, you do realize that for this alliance to work; the clan has plans to betroth you to one of the Senju siblings, do you not?" Ryouta finally ground out, and instantly regretted his choice of words when fresh trails of tears rolled down her cheeks. "I don't wanna marry them." she cried, her face muffled in between the blankets.

"It doesn't matter what you want."

Ryouta was in a really difficult position right now, one way he could fall in a well or go the other way and dive down a ravine; either way pain was what awaited him. "That's not for you to decide, child." he sighed.

"I won't marry them!" she half screamed, half wailed. Ryouta tried to calm her down but seeing her stand up while her hair started flailing, his eyes went wide. "Mito, what's gotten into you?!" he finally asked, shocked.

She had always been the obedient child a father could ever hope to ask for. But, this past week she had been disobeying him one time after another. From keeping her hair open at all times when she knew it wasn't how an heiress should carry herself, to sneaking out from home to go and meet up with a weird boy; all throughout the week she had been acting weird and completely out of the norms.

"If you try and force me, I swear I'll do something reckless." she threatened, and Ryouta almost had a seizure then and there. From playful banter, this conversation was delving into a far deeper territory. He hadn't known how deep her feelings went. But if her reactions were anything to go by, this was no playful courting; she was absolutely serious about him. "Mito-" he tried.

"No," she cut him off before he could say any more. "I swear I'll run away. If that doesn't work, I'll go and attack those damned Senju's at the wedding itself." he almost had to bite back a chuckle hearing that last point, she didn't know how to threaten anyone to save her life-

"If all else fails, I'll kill myself!"

 _ **Slap!**_

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Just as the adrenaline coursing through his veins died down, Ryouta's eyes widened seeing his daughter holding her tinged cheek with tearful eyes. In all the years he'd raised his daughter, this was first time Ryouta had ever been forced to raise his hand on her.

Before he could so much as utter a word of apology, Mito ran by his side and hightailed out the door; closing it with such brute force that Ryouta knew he'd have to replace it later on to hide those cracks she'd left behind in her wake of sorrows.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. He'd figured she was just going out with him for the heck of it - nothing serious. Just some teenage wish fulfillment every child her age went through. And so, he'd never given it so much as a side glance. But this, this…slapping his forehead with an audible smack, "I'm getting too old for this shit!" he grumbled in annoyance.

* * *

For the second time this week, Madara stared at the curled up ball of blanket on his bed rather blankly. They were supposed to be shinobi, were they not…? If nothing else, shinobi should have proper etiquette and punctuality in their lives; at least that's what he thought.

Clenching the corners of comforters in his hand, Madara shrugged them off with such brute force that it served to leave a dust cloud in it's wake. The bumbling blonde ball muttering curses at his very existence was merely a bonus for all the work he'd put in. "I swear, there's a special place in hell for the likes of you. Waking me up in such demonic ways, you're the biggest bastard I've ever had the pleasure of knowing, go relish in that!"

Deciding to cut his colorful praise before it got too far, "As pleasant as it is to hear you appraise me so highly, it's time to wake up." Madara said.

"I was up late last night, get lost and let me sleep!"

"Oh…" Madara placed a thoughtful finger on his lips, apparently amused. "Finally, the Uzumaki heiress caved in eh?" seeing his brother's twitching eye, Madara was having the time of his life.

"Or did she brush off your charms as if they were mere-"

His brother, apparently didn't find it quite as amusing as he did; if the couple of shurikens flying at his face were any indication that is. Not to say, he caught them in his fingers with ease and watched his blonde idiot of a brother rummage through his clothes for some more.

Smirking, Madara kicked him in the butt and toppled him over the other side of bed. "Wake up, before I have you labeled as nocturnal." he ignored the incoherent curses that came flying from his back and turned around to go and look through some paperwork.

There was a knock on the door that garnered the bantering duo's attention. And just as Madara was about to go and get it, he heard a weird sound coming from the other side of the door. He was momentarily blinded when his brother flashed right in front of him and opened the door in haste. Knowing this was something serious, since his brother never used that particular technique until absolutely necessary, Madara kept his words to himself and decided to just let the events unfold for now. **"Naruto~~~"** now that sniffle was surely feminine, and if the crimson blur that had barreled into his brother's chest was any indication…

It was probably the heiress.

"Hey…" in all the years he'd known his brother, Madara had never heard his brother coo someone with such affection; especially of the opposite gender. His general rule with women was to move on after the night was over, and it had served him pretty well over the years. Not to say, that particular skill had come in handy on many missions as of late to Madara himself. But seeing the mismatched crowns of hair snuggled into each other, even he had to smile.

Maybe there was some hope left for his brother after all.

"Naruto - _sniff -_ he - me - _sniff -_ marry - t-then slap…"

"Mito, calm down." Naruto cooed in her ear, "Let me hear you, princess." he told her. What he hadn't expected was what came next, she started punching his chest back on the ground with all her might while her wails turned louder and louder each passing second. By this time, Madara was choking back a chuckle seeing Naruto deliriously dodge those fists that were leaving small craters by his head.

" **Wha~~~"**

Finally catching a hold of her wrists, Naruto pulled her down on his chest and kept her firmly planted in his arms with an iron grip. She tried to wriggle free, but after a few vain attempts she relented and cried her heart out on his chest; all the while Naruto tried to figure out what he'd done to make her cry so much. But what if someone else had-

" **Mito, did someone hurt you…?"**

Madara's senses tingled in joy seeing his brother's hidden side force itself out. These moments were rare and far in between, but when they did appear; let's just say he'd never been so proud of his brother.

Choking on her sniffles a couple of times, "M-My father h-he…" she hiccuped.

Instantly all energy left Naruto's body and he relished himself in holding her tightly to his chest. Tucking her head under his chin, he started rocking her back and forth. "What am I supposed to do now?" Naruto mouthed to his sensible half - the elderly Uchiha - who merely reciprocated with a helpless shrug.

There were only a handful people Naruto couldn't touch, and unfortunately, his girlfriend's father ranked pretty damn high on that list.

But also -

"Mito, how am I supposed to help if you won't tell me anything…?"

Silence befell the room for a few seconds before Mito's reddened eyes turned intensely towards Naruto. "What am I to you?" she asked.

"...huh?!"

"What am I to you?" she repeated, still not blinking. Naruto's face went through a tirade of emotions, before finally settling into a tired one. Cupping her puffed cheek in his hand, "Whatever you want me to be." he told her, his own voice honest and sincere.

The way her face lit up in pure joy, Naruto knew he'd scored big time with that reply. Not a second later, Mito had mashed her lips on his own and sealed them both in a tight kiss. "Uhum -" Madara coughed, interrupting the moment.

Reactions were instant, Mito was off her lover in an instant and shot off a couple feet away from him. Naruto settled in on glaring at his brother for breaking the sweetest kiss he'd ever had in his entire life. Feeling a light slap on his cheek, "Hey! What's that for…?!" Naruto protested.

"For taking advantage of a helpless girl like you just did. Plus, embarrassing me in front of your brother!" she retorted heatedly, blushing madly. "I'll have you know it was you who initiated that kiss-" once again, Naruto's cheek was slapped with a light enough smack that it wasn't even hurtful physically; but his pride was taking quite a few hits here.

"S-Shut up!"

"Plus, I bet my life that he won't even mind getting a free show if I were to take you here and now- "

"I knew it, both of you are perverts!"

"I said I'm not a pervert, and my brother isn't that important anyways-"

"You two do realize that I'm still here, right?"

" **Shut up!/ Stay out of this!"**

Giving up on trying to have a meaningful conversation with two fools, Madara sipped on his tea and sifted through his newspaper with his legs crossed while those two hormone charged idiots sorted this mess out on their own. That wasn't to say he wasn't keeping his ears peeled for some new information.

"I've fallen for you, Naruto."

Spilling his tea on the newspaper and some on his shirt, Madara had to stare at the heiress and his brother wide-eyed while both were too engrossed in each other to notice his eyes on themselves. "Come again…?" Naruto asked, his own voice barely above a whisper right now.

"Don't make me say it again…" Mito shyly whispered. Madara had almost missed that part if not for his sensible skill at charging his ears with some chakra. Well, he to admit that it was fast. That wasn't to say he had been doubting the blonde's claims at charming the heiress in less that two weeks; but this had barely been a week. "I'll have no one as my partner other than you." she told him, clearly in an all too smitten way.

That sealed the talks of alliance in Madara's head more or less.

Finally deciding to intervene, Madara got up from his chair and sat on a knee by Mito's side. Placing a comforting hand on her head, "Do you know what you're admitting here, young lady…?" he gently questioned the wide eyed girl.

This was no small matter, she was of royal origins. Her shoulders carried the weight of this entire island, and her words spoke on behalf of all her people. Not to say Naruto's status wasn't any lesser in his eyes. Since after him, the entire Uchiha head family's burden was Naruto's and his alone.

These two getting together would bring forth a change in alliances not seeing for nearly a whole millennium. Even as outspoken as Naruto was, he didn't dare interrupt his brother when he was talking so seriously on something as important as this.

"I do."

Smiling at her instantaneous reply, Madara pressed his hand on her head with a bit of force to offer his blessings and flicked away his hair to reveal a dangling jewel hanging by his right earlobe. Undoing the ornament from his ear, Madara handed it to Naruto and nodded curtly.

"Put it on her."

Naruto tucked her hair behind her ear and waited for permission, and as soon as she nodded he clicked it tightly on her free ear and smiled like there was no tomorrow. This ritual had been passed down within their family for generations, clan heads and their siblings not willing to let anyone know of their marriages in fear of outside attacks lived with each other by putting these clan ornaments on their spouses.

"You two are more or less engaged now." Madara told her, easing Mito's worries as to what it was that had taken place just now. He'd half expected her to be shocked, to even be scared a little at having been forced into it.

Instead, the redhead looked content to melt in Naruto's arms right now.

"I'll leave you two to your own devices now, I have some business to discuss with your father regarding some alliance alterations…" he told them and chucked on his trusted war fan down his back before making his way out. "So…" Naruto drawled out, his baby blue eyes twinkling with mischief.

"What is it?" Mito asked, blinking innocently.

"Let's have sex -"

Mito's palm met Naruto's cheek for another light smack, leaving behind a sulking and pouting mess of smashed male ego, "No." she huffed.

"Why not…?" he whined.

"It's ten in the morning," she was quite confused as to why Naruto's face lit up even after her blunt refusal, but she got her answer soon enough.

"It's alright in the night, then?" he hopefully asked.

Blushing madly, "NO!" she closed that door to a shut.

This time, Naruto gently took her hands in his own and kept his eyes trained on them. "Why not, what's the problem?" he asked.

"Naruto…it's just that; I'm not ready yet."

Giving a brush to her cheek, "I know, I'm just teasing you." he grinned.

Hauling her back onto his lap, Naruto started his favorite routine of rummaging through the kinks in her hair and placing random kisses on her neck. It was silent for quite a few minutes before something finally clicked in Mito's mind. "Naruto…?" she called for his attention.

"Hm…?!"

"I won't be changing my last name after marriage just so you know."

Naruto hadn't laughed as hard as he did right then to this very day.

* * *

For as far back as he could possibly remember, Madara had always had a keen eye for potential enemies; even going so far as to look for them in his own clan. Years upon years of battling in clan wars had made it a casual habit of his if one were to put it lightly. But, from the day he'd arrived here his eyes had yet to gauge a single shinobi worth his salt who could possibly give him the fun of an addicting spar on this tropical island.

Laughing, drinking, eating, playing; there had been facilities catering to each and every one of those lifestyle whims; but he had yet to see a single training ground being put to great enough use other than a couple children sparring here and there. The most he'd seen since coming here was the heiress's unprecedented attack on his brother or the usual patrolling team he'd come across every now and then, it was disappointing to say the least.

If he were to be honest, had it not been for the tight security that their mastery in sealing provided them with, he'd have no problem labeling it as a country well on it's way to welcoming spies from all over the world in his report to Hashirama back home. The clan leader's daughter, and his future sister-daughter figure, had potential he'd admit it, but it was as far of a disparity as they came.

She too was primarily raised up to be a seal mistress, secondarily an heiress; so all her combat potential had essentially been ruined in his eyes. Now, this wasn't to say that Madara was a man who was out looking for battle on a whim; well, not anymore at least. But he at least had to consider the possibility of what their allies had to offer in term of alliances, did he not…?

But as far as he could tell, the only strength sharing that would be happening here would have to be on the Leaf's part. These Uzumaki clan members were pretty affluent in combat given their homely surroundings, but take that away from them and they were easy pickings for most, if not all of the capable ninjas he'd come across throughout his journeys on the mainland.

That wasn't to say the Leaf was being ripped off in allying themselves to this nation of whirlpools in any way. Their land was as rich in mineral resources as they came, and he knew he'd have a hard time keeping those greedy suckers back at the Fire Capital from turning this into a mining/port island if push came to shove. That would be degrading for a shinobi nation and Madara for one would have none of that sham; from civilians no less.

"Ryouta-sama will see you now."

Nodding at the secretary whose voice came out more as a whimper than as a greeting, Madara had to 'Tsk." in annoyance before entering the office. _"Weaklings, the lot of them."_ he grumbled inwardly, wondering if there was perhaps an elite group of shinobi that they kept in hiding; now that might be something to boast about. Twisting the knob open, he announced that he was coming in and went in without further ado.

Inside, much to his surprise there were a couple of unfamiliar faces already present. Their foreheads donned the classic quad wave pattern that showed their allegiances to the Land of Water. Now that made him reminisce to the times when he'd come across some capable shinobi back there.

They'd been pretty good until he'd crushed them.

Ah, good times.

"I was told you were free to talk." Madara ground out, signaling to the unwanted pests still shamelessly plastered onto the guest seats. That was all it took for those rats to scurry off, but not before they took a hesitant look back at him. He matched their eyes and smirked when they repulsed in shock at being caught so quickly.

"I'm sorry, that took longer than expected." Ryouta apologized for their tardiness. "Please, do have a seat." the man kindly offered, to which Madara nodded curtly and did as he was told.

"Who were they…?" Madara craned his neck back to signal at those who'd just left, and Ryouta blinked at his abrupt curiosity with those guests. From as much as he'd come to know the Uchiha Patriarch over the past week, he'd learnt that the man was generally reserved and much more content with living in denial to things that didn't interest him than probing something, which weren't much to begin with. "That was the team that came to escort Mito for her talks." Ryouta told him.

Madara stayed silent, motioning for him to go on. This was the first he was hearing of this, "Uh, I wasn't made aware of this myself." Ryouta sheepishly admitted, obviously embarrassed at his lack of knowledge on the matter. Madara had to frown, but he himself was content to listen to the man rather than preach advice to him on matters of leadership. "How many are there…?" Madara questioned.

"Four, one high ranking and three moderate ones."

Nodding, Madara stored away that information for later. His brother now had to deal with this complication too, but most of his time would rather be spent on dealing with the heiress - that much he knew.

"Uh, Madara-sama." Ryouta called for Madara's attention, remembering the scuffle he'd had with his daughter in the morning. "There's something I'd like to discuss before we move any further." Madara had an inkling of suspicion as to where this was heading so he raised his hand and shook his own head in denial.

"Let me go first, I have something important to discuss as well; a subtle change in alliances so to speak." Blinking, Ryouta leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table. Resting his chin on crossed fingers, the elderly man motioned for him to go on. "I'd like to propose you keep the Senju clan out of question when we discuss all talks pertaining to alliances from this point on." Madara proposed.

Gobsmacked, Ryouta clearly hadn't expected that. "B-But if not for the Senju-" he started.

"Instead, we file in the Uchiha name and ally us as an alternative." Madara sliced his tirade in half.

Realization washed over Ryouta's face, the redhead's own mind going at a mile an hour. Both men knew where the other was going with this, knowing full well what their heirs were up to in their leisurely times. Plus, this would save Ryouta the shame of having to face the Senju while Mito bit their heads off admitting her love for the blonde; and he'd be in his daughter's good books from now as well.

It was a win-win for the Uzumaki on all fronts since he for one had always considered the Uchiha to be stronger than the Senju in terms of raw combating capabilities. They were precision driven killing machines on the battlefield that no one had the gall to look in the eye; no pun intended. He'd firsthand witnessed their potential years ago, something that haunted him and his daughter to this very day.

Madara smirked seeing the pure greed flash in the older man's eyes. Even through his hesitating features, Madara could see the Uzumaki clan head putting two and two together. Maybe he wouldn't have to play the engagement card on him just yet. "What say you…?" Madara asked.

"It's quite the tempting proposition, is what I'd say." Ryouta himself smirked, clearly intrigued by the endless possibilities this plan had to offer. "Since I'm here on behalf of the Leaf, and with my powers as the functioning clan head; I'd dare say my offer would be better than the Senju's." Madara smoothly stated, sweetening the deal even further.

Ryouta was about drooling by this point, "Let's talk numbers then, shall we?" the elderly man proposed, his voice filtering itself avariciously. All the while, Madara only had one thought going through his mind seeing Ryouta falling deeper and deeper for his ever so subtle manipulations.

" _Hook, line and sinker."_

* * *

 **Author's notes : I honestly wanted to make this a 10k chapter, but this just seemed like the perfect moment to end it so I decided not to stretch it. Desert Flower is in works as well, but after going through this story last night; I more or less typed this chapter in two hours so see what it says about my interest in this particular fic. But, if there are any mistakes I apologize well in advance; point them out as well in those reviews and I'll fix them as soon as humanly possible.**

 **It pained me to see this story hitting the back burner and decided to put some work in since it had been well over a year since it's last update. I know this story doesn't have the same execution as my other one's; but this one's especially close to my heart so hope y'all like it.**

 **To ease your worries, the story twists from next chapter onward and the relationship I've fleshed out will reach fruition when this whole Land of Water arc is said and done. Plus, I've yet to introduce several characters including the Senju brothers; I know, I'm surprised myself so look forward to action in the coming chapters. My Naruto, in this particular story is a player with women, witty in words and does all he wished on instincts alone. So, anyone looking for anything else, haul off and look somewhere else. For everyone else -**

 **I'll see you next time, so until then keep reading and tell me how like it in reviews.**

 **NSE signing out.**

 **Ja Ne ;D**

* * *

 **PS : I have a rough draft written already. So, this story is going the exact same way as I'd initially planned; all of my stories are. So, no need to worry on that accord.**


	5. Chapter 5

_**~~~Naruto : Remnants of the Past~~~**_

* * *

Two days passed along in a breeze, a small time for anyone else but for a certain red haired heiress time seemed to be passing along much slower than usual these days. Mito had barely even caught sight of her golden haired goofball ever since that whole fiasco at his hotel room had ended. In all the time she'd spent with him, this was the first time she'd realized just how much his usual presence mattered to her. During all his teasing and casual joking, she'd lost sight of how entangled her heart had become with his own.

"Why doesn't he come see me, birdie…?"

Questioning a cuckoo bird might seem mentally retarded to anyone else. But with her father out of the picture due to their little struggle a couple days back, Mito was all but confined in her room like a love-struck princess. Granted she didn't get so much as a coo from the chick bouncing on her window, but at least it gave her reason enough to break the silence of her house. Several bottles of ink and scrolls were sprawled by her side and coupled with some books they were all nagging reminders of the failures she'd endured from her previous attempts at trying to find something useful to do with her time.

So, she'd tried to take her mind off of everything and immerse herself in some analysis of seals as per usual. But the most she'd managed to get out of it was an hour of calligraphy before scribbling down the kanji for _his_ name by mistake. Her honest attempt had eventually led her to let out a shrilled scream, a broken brush and some expensive ink later, Mito was left with several spoiled rugs she would have to replace due to the spillage of one whole bottle of ink over it in her bout of rage.

Falling down on her back with arms crossing over her eyes, "I'm so frustrated." she begrudgingly admitted. Rolling over to the side, she curled herself up in a ball and scowled. Maybe she'd given him way too much leeway. Yeah, that was probably it. Now that he knew they were engaged, maybe she was being treated as the hen in a cage that was always there for him to appease his desires whenever he pleased.

That idiot was taking her for granted, wasn't he…?

"He can at least send a letter saying he's fine. Is even such little a thing too much to ask for birdie…?" she didn't expect any answer from the bird hopping on her rug, idly pecking away on the rice crackers she'd left on her place since she wasn't in the mood to eat them anyway. Here she was, making up god knew how many scenarios in her mind as to what might have occurred to make him get so caught up; even going so far as to trekking to the hospital to check if there were any new blonde patients admitted recently.

Suddenly, "Miss me, princess…?" a new voice spoke up.

Mito was up with a start, staring wide eyed at the blonde waving at her from the windowsill. Frowning, she went for the empty bottle of ink lying by her side and chucked it straight at his face. She'd expected him to dodge, what she hadn't expected was for him to take the hit straight to his face. Groaning, the boy leaned back to rub his aching nose but not before losing his balance and eventually toppling down the window. "NARUTO…!" Mito shrieked, running up to the window in haste.

Mito's heart hammered as she came to the window. But much to her surprise, she neither heard a crash nor did she see him land down on the ground. Cursing, "That hurt…" Naruto groaned, probably standing right behind her. Turning around, she saw a perfectly fine Naruto still rubbing his nose like an idiot, totally ignorant as if he'd not just almost given her a seizure.

Like a toad, Mito got on her knees and launched all her weight onto the oblivious blonde. Stumbling back a couple of steps, Naruto caught her slender form in an embrace and smiled lopsidedly when she snuggled her face into his chest. "I'm so sorry." her mumbled earned her a soft rub to her hair that made her cuddle up even more in his arms.

Inhaling sharply, Naruto took a deep whiff of her hair and groaned. "God, I've missed you." he muttered, the longing clearly evident in his voice made her smile. Honestly perplexed. "Why didn't you dodge…?" she murmured. He clearly had natural instincts and reflexes sharp enough to dodge even the most dangerous of knives, that much she knew from her past encounter with him. Then, why hadn't he dodged that stupid bottle…?

It didn't make any sense.

Naruto, though, was completely lost in nipping away at her neck. "Mito…" he groaned, letting his hands roam southwards down her back. Feeling his hands cup her cheeks, not the ones on her face mind you; Mito squirmed uneasily. "Naruto, what's gotten into you…?" she whimpered, growing more and more uncomfortable at his odd actions.

Forcing him to break the hug, Mito's was greeted to the sight of half lidded cerulean eyes staring her down in dazed fondness. She tiptoed her face closer to his own, ignoring his poor attempts at capturing her lips and prodded her nose closer to his lips, sniffing.

"You're drunk." she told him.

Tearing his eyes face from her, "...no, not really." he waved her off.

"Naruto," she stressed, thick and firm. "Have you been drinking…?" Mito admonished the blonde as a mother would do to her child. She didn't get any reply in return, instead Naruto plopped down on her bed and took a seat.

"You look so pretty…" he slurred, grinning.

Mito forced down the blush that was threatening to creep up on her cheeks and narrowed her eyes into thin slits. Closing the distance he'd just created, Mito slapped a hand on her hip and cocked it aside. "Why have you been drinking in broad daylight mister…?" her strict voice made him straighten his back and cough. "I haven't been drinking," he tried.

"Naruto…!" Mito warned him. "…much." he begrudgingly admitted. Naruto grimaced as her glare intensified twofold. Since she was within arms reach, Naruto wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, effectively burying his face in her stomach while she squealed gleefully in delight. Her own loose sleeves wrapping around his head to hide him from the world, she pecked his head with a tender kiss. Red-faced, "Welcome home." Mito murmured.

Grinning like a loon, "It's good to be home." he whispered. Mito held him tight to relish in the warmth she'd been devoid of for the past couple of days, not even realizing how Naruto's hands were working their magic down her back. Slickly freeing the knot binding her kimono, Naruto pulled it off her shoulder before she could try and pull it up. Left in only a thin silk bodice, Mito could do nothing but squeak as she was pulled onto the bed and buried under Naruto's weight. "Too many clothes." he whispered, placing his lips on her exposed collarbone to elicit a moan.

Mito wanted to protest, but Naruto wasn't giving her a chance to do so as he kept switching between nipping at her neck and lips to ravish her as he pleased. "Ah!" she moaned, her back arching as his hand traced the entire length of her thigh in one slick motion. Even drunk, she was shocked to the core at how smooth his touches were; as if he'd done this a thousand times. "Mito!" he groaned as her own hand reached down for his probing length and rubbed the clothing out of sheer instinct, Naruto's right hand moving up to rest on her breast. Blushing, "This is getting pretty serious." Mito murmured.

"Yeah." Naruto admitted, his eyes flickering from cerulean to crimson as his chakra control went completely haywire. But seeing her like this, wrapped up only in a thin piece of silk with each and every curve of hers on display while she let him do as he pleased - his breathing turned ragged.

Her long wavy hair were sprawled on the bed like a carpet, welcoming him to get lost in their sheen. Mito's cheeks resembled her hair as she caressed Naruto's cheek and gnawed away on her lip to conjure up some words at the precarious situation he had placed her in. "Don't worry." he told her, placing a soft peck on her forehead followed by a warm smile.

"I'm not nearly drunk enough to force my muffin into doing something she'd regret later on." she blushed hearing the nickname he'd just called her with and his words themselves made her giggle uncontrollably. Even as open as she was with her bodice pulled up to her waist - her delicate body parts on complete display through thin veils of silk - it scared her more than Naruto did as to how comfortable she felt at the moment. "You don't have to stop." she admitted shyly.

Maybe it was the informal engagement ceremony that had provided her with enough courage to admit this, or the frustration she'd felt until merely an hour ago that had made her say this. But whatever it was, all she knew was that this felt good. Like really good, "No, I do." Naruto said, bringing her hand between them to show her what he meant. Her hand was shivering like a dry leaf, so was the rest of her body. She wondered if that was what had made him stop all of a sudden.

Honestly, this what annoyed her the most. The way he kept teasing her from time to time, with each attempt becoming more and more intense each passing day just to test if she'd finally become ripe enough for him to pluck, no pun intended. And just as usual, Mito knew she'd failed his test - again. "I'm so sorry, Mito." Mito blinked, caught off guard.

Tilting her head aside, Mito gave him a funny look. "What for…?" she wondered. Naruto didn't bother explaining, too tired was he to do something so troublesome when he had a perfect body-sized mattress to rest on. Mito didn't bother probing any further as Naruto snuggled his face in the valley of her bosoms, his breaths subsiding slowly but surely.

"Mito, you're mine aren't you…?"

"Yes," she affirmed. "…and you're mine. Now sleep."

She added extra effort to make her voice as soft and tender as possible, trying to lull him to sleep. "…sing for me." caught off guard once again, Mito thought she was hearing things. But seeing those wide childlike eyes looking at her so adoringly, she felt her resolve melting pretty darn quickly.

But as much as it pained her to say it, "I don't know any lullaby's, Naruto." she sadly admitted. It had always been a dream of hers to remember what it was like when her mother sung her endless songs to lull her to naps, when the woman was finally tired of her energetic girl's plays. But it was hazy at best, and Mito honestly didn't remember a single song.

"Make something up then, I won't sleep otherwise."

Naruto's childish protest forced her to smile, maybe alcohol didn't just turn respectable men into complete pricks. Sometimes, it seemed as if it turned cool and hip people into complete babies. Corners of her lips quirking up in mild amusement, "Alright then." Mito decided to just rough it out for now.

 _~~~I am always cuddling my pillow,_

 _~~~As if it were you._

~~~ _I'm not going to sleep,_

 _~~~Because I'll think about you._

 _~~~I'm rolling around in my bed,_

 _~~~Because I'm missing you._

 _~~~Baby I felt so lonely,_

 _~~~Maybe you missed me too…_

Her melodious murmurs eventually subsided when she felt Naruto's form go slack in her chest. Honestly, he was such an idiot that Mito wanted to be angry at him - not only for disappearing for two whole days without prior notice - but for coming home to see her drunk after that. But merely seeing his childlike side worming it's way out like this, she hoped beyond all hopes that he would come home drunk more often than not in the future.

Let it be known that Naruto was an adorable drunk in her eyes. Whatever it was he'd done to force himself to drink so much, he had already apologized to her. So, she forgave him as it is, promising herself not to probe him anymore than absolutely necessary.

Kissing his head once more, "I love you." she murmured, smiling.

No one noticed the pair of eyes perched on the branch outside her window vanishing into thin air, neither the baby blues opening for a split second before finally falling down into a deep slumber in Mito's arms.

* * *

It wasn't until four hours later that Naruto's bloodstream had finally sobered up enough for him to regain his consciousness. Lack of warmth by his side was the first thing he noticed, a fact that annoyed said blonde to no end. Throwing aside the comforters, he made his way out to where he his senses took him. "I've got to lessen up on drinks…" he grumbled, wincing from the aching headache that was hitting him full force at the moment.

But coming down from the stairs, he eventually arrived at the open doorway to the courtyards behind the estate's backside. Leaning by the door, his lips quirked up in a smile seeing his lovely redhead tending to some fishes in the pond; her hair furnished behind her like red velvet.

"There are some pills and water on the table," Mito mentioned, not even bothering to see if he was behind her or not. Naruto had to blink as he tried to think how she'd managed to intercept his presence with such ease before finally realizing, "Stupid sensors." he pouted, sulking.

"I heard that."

"Aw."

That was when he was greeted to the melodious echoes of her laughter, breathing life to almost everything around her. Meanwhile, Naruto just stood there - utterly entranced by the sound of her laughs. Even as his headache killed him for listening to them so intently - Naruto - for the life of him, couldn't take his eyes off of her. Popping a pill in his mouth and gulping it down with water without ever breaking his gaze, Naruto made his way closer to her. Looking as carefree as the day he was born, Naruto sat by her side.

Sitting by his side, Mito couldn't help but shoot a nervous glance behind her. He was right there as she'd expected, purposely sitting inches behind her with an arm open. Mito wasn't as naive as to not sense where he was going with his gesture. But that didn't mean she had to do what he was telling her to do. So, she decided to ignore it and started tending to the fishes in her pond once more. "Mito," Naruto called, his voice turning gravely serious. "…come here." chewing her lip, Mito scooted back from that frigid tone and let her head be rested forcefully on his shoulder, almost melting in his arms when he placed a gentle kiss on top of her head.

"That's better."

Reaching her lips closer to his ear, "Naruto, the house has been scouted at random for hours now." Mito whispered, trying to appear as normal as possible given her circumstances. "I know." Naruto's simple answer shocked her to say the least. But the way he'd said it as if it wasn't even important was what shook her the most.

"But I'm here, aren't I?"

His brother's words rang through her mind once more, and she had to drill the point in her head that he was an accomplished shinobi - one who had already endured years of hardships back on the mainlands; drunk or otherwise.

As her father had told her - if Uchiha Madara recognized someone's strength, you dare not underestimate them. But still, "How can you be so calm…?" she couldn't help but ask him outright.

Mito's question didn't seem to garner her any replies, instead Naruto looked more engrossed in petting her hair than paying heed to her questions. Scratching that question in the bin, she conjured up a new one, "Who are they…?" Mito switched topics.

This time, Naruto's sharp look almost made her flinch. She hated the Sharingan with all her being, yes. But those frosty blues could be just as intimidating as well, to the point they turned menacing whenever the need arose, Mito was reminded herself. Naruto's expression softened up considerably seeing her hurt filled eyes, and he went on to pick her chin up and quickly closed the distance between their lips.

Smirking seeing her lips parting almost naturally, "…assassins." he replied to her earlier question. Quickly capturing her lips just as her breath started hitching, her arms went around his neck almost reflexively. Breaking their short moment abruptly with a slick noise, "For whom…?" she asked, a bit out of breath. If they were here for Naruto, then she could understand why they'd been stalking the perimeter of her house's barrier for hours now - waiting in hiding for a single chance to jump on him. That was most probably it, there was no way they would bother with her of all people;

"You."

Mito gnawed away on the left corner of her lip hearing that. Then, why weren't they attacking her? She'd raised the barriers momentarily to see if they would take the bait and show themselves out of their hiding spots, but they hadn't. Her senses could pick up their presence, sure. But locating them precisely was a different matter altogether. They were probably using some sort of technique to trick her senses into being fooled at sensing multiple locations at once.

"I told you, I'm here aren't I? No worries."

Eyes widening, she opened her mouth to protest when much to her surprise Naruto caught her cheeks in a pinch and started squeezing the heck out of them; "You've got fish lips, isn't that cute…?!" he chortled while squeezing them so much that they now resembled her hair. Mito could feel the tips of her ears turning hot as well, a deep blush started creeping up her neck. "Nwaruto, lwet go…" she protested in muffles. Stopping his pranks all for a moment;

"Mito, you don't mind me sticking around here for a while. Right…?"

Mito could feel where he was going with this and scowled upon realizing he was somehow underestimating her - again. Much to her added shame. "I can take care of myself, no need to concern yourself with me." she scoffed, huffing pridefully. "Is that right?" Naruto asked petulantly.

Astonished from the lack of warmth around her back, Mito reached out to catch his shirt in a pinch when he started getting up to leave all of a sudden. "Where are you going…?" he surprised her when she didn't get so much as a twitch from him in reply. Her hold on his shirt was light too, to the point that he could leave if he so wished with just a little tug. But he wasn't, something she was glad for. "Where are you going…?" she stressed stubbornly, growing more and more annoyed by his silent treatment.

"You don't need me, right?" Naruto recited her words from earlier, "Then I'd better not burden the heiress anymore." the fact that he referred to her as the heiress and not with some sort of endearment twisted Mito's stomach in ways she absolutely did not desire. But having him just leave her like this, all alone;

"...stay."

A small, soft form pressed itself on Naruto's back, the blonde himself smiling when he felt a pair of arms wrapping around his chest from behind. "I don't think I should, I mean you are pretty strong after all…" his voice trailed off when Mito started snuggling her face in his neck.

"...please stay."

Even Naruto knew how much it must have taken for the prideful heiress to come out and plead for something on her side. Being nobility, he was raised himself to never ask for anything from anyone no matter the circumstances. Taking her hand in his own, Naruto kissed her palm softly before replying with an, "Alright." he agreed.

Mito could understand where he was coming from, yes. He was trying to keep her in his shadow - under his protection so to say. She didn't need it, and she knew he was quite well aware of it. But he was still sticking around for her sake. Now, Mito was certainly no housewife, even if she was no kunoichi either. The last thing she wanted to be was a damsel in distress.

"I'm supposed to be angry at you for being drunk, not the other way around you idiot." her soft whine coupled with the scrunched up face she pulled was damn near adorable in Naruto's eyes. "I'm sorry for that." he apologized partly for himself, but mostly in order to save her the dignity of asking something off of him that she so desired.

Momentary silence settled between the two, before Naruto broke it with a voice that was barely above the audible range. "Mito, listen to me." he said.

"Hm, what is it…?"

"Regarding our trip to the Land of Water…"

"What about it?

"Well, you see I've made some changes."

"What kind of changes…?"

Mito eyed Naruto with caution, honestly curious as to the kind of 'changes' he'd made within their travel arrangements and motioned for him to go on. "Well, then go on - elaborate some more." she persisted when Naruto still didn't bother saying anything else.

"I'll tell you tonight, when we make out in your room that is."

Flaming like a volcano, Mito excused herself for preparing some tea and proceeded to storm her way inside in a blur to hide her face from him. Even in front of the face of danger, he had the gall to embarrass her and laugh so loudly at her embarrassment on top of it.

Honestly, he was such an idiot for saying personal things so casually.

There were assassins out to get her, dang it!

* * *

Time came and flew by in a prompt, and it was finally midnight when Naruto decided to shower the hotel room's temporary abode with his presence. It had certainly been a long couple of days, squeezing out information from the sleaziest of places had certainly not been easy; the pleasure that came from it afterwards had been a welcome change though.

Sliding the windowsill sideways, Naruto managed to creep up on his vacant bed silently before crashing face first into it with a smile. "Finally," he mumbled, frustrated beyond belief. Even though he'd had his time relieving his stress with the 'information broker' last night, Mito's involuntary reluctance at giving in to his charms were getting tiring pretty fast.

It was the first time he'd longed to have a girl so much and never had he waited this long for someone from as far back as he could bother remembering. Whether it be for a mission or for personal reasons, understanding and bedding women had always been the one thing he'd been nifty at. Mito, on the other hand, he couldn't quite understand.

She trusted him, yes. He'd already completed the engagement ceremony with her as well, then why the hell did her body shivered like a dry leaf whenever he so much as touched her temptingly, was, honestly beyond his understanding.

Her innocence, those childlike smiles and that stubborn, aloof facade she pulled whenever he was in public with her became cute in his eyes before he even realized it himself. "I'm so pathetic." Naruto groaned, shoving those thoughts aside to save himself some male dignity.

"It's about damn time you realized it."

Chucking the lamp by his bedside table straight at the source of said voice, Naruto grumbled incoherent curses when a round of amused chuckles filled the air of the room instead of the sound of shattering glass. "She still won't put out, huh?" Madara asked, apparently amused seeing his brother's misery.

"I don't even know what I'm doing wrong with her. It's the first time this has happened!" Naruto protested, loathing how painful it was to his pride. "It's your first time with a girl like her, Naruto." Madara said, epitome of calmness.

"Whatever do you mean…?"

Sighing, Madara took a seat by Naruto's side to explain it to him. "She's completely untouched in physical matters, isn't she?" he asked.

Nodding, "Yeah…" Naruto wondered where he was going with this.

"How many girls have you been with who were completely untouched?"

Plopping onto an elbow and delving into his memories, "Well, there was…no. But then she…no not her either." try as he might to come up with a name, Naruto came up with naught.

They were all experienced in some way beforehand.

"Have you never wondered why I let you fool around with them so much?"

"Perhaps, because you couldn't care less?" Naruto guessed, instantly regretting his reply as a fist started drilling itself onto his head for a lesson in manners.

"Naruto, we are different than all the others in our clan."

"Oh, how so…?" Naruto rolled his eyes. Flicking his forehead with a painful snap, "We have the purest bloodline of all the Uchiha's in our clan. The head family has always conserved the bloodline and never associated with lesser kin." Madara explained, confused when Naruto scoffed at his reply.

"I'm not that pure you know, what with me being a bastard…"

"You finish that sentence and I'll knock you senseless."

Shutting up when he knew his brother was serious about beating him, Naruto felt like a child again when Madara towered over him like a giant. "Never consider yourself to be of lesser origin just because you mother wasn't a shinobi. The power your eyes exude is proof enough of your lineage, heritage doesn't come overnight and neither does it vanish with looks alone." Madara stated calmly, intently referring to the exotic color of Naruto's eyes and hair - the primary motivation behind his doubts.

"But, back to the earlier point. You can fool around with as many women as much as you want. But the one woman who you'll be associated with for the rest of your life will be of equal footing with our family, regardless of your thoughts on the matter - I'll personally see to it since that's the promise I made to Izuna before he..." Madara inhaled a deep breath to steady his voice. "...Anyways - the only reason why I let you pursue the heiress with no protests in the first place was for this very reason. You understand my point now, don't you?" Madara asked strictly.

Blinking, "Uh, if it was anyone other than my Mito…" Naruto faltered.

"Then there would be no marriage." Madara told him, thick and firm. "She could have been a mistress, yes. But a wife, no." the elderly Uchiha stressed, trying to get his point across as bluntly as possible. It wasn't uncommon in this day and age for men birthed from nobility to keep multiple mistresses under their wing. But spouses were always kept to a meager one no matter the circumstances, at least for those who had common sense to call themselves truly noble.

As much as Naruto did not like where this conversation was heading, "Let's just leave it at that," Naruto cut the tension with an imaginary knife. "...It's a moot point anyway. You're fine with my Mito, and her father's fine with me. Plus, we're perfect for each other." Naruto waved offhandedly and tried to switch topics.

It wouldn't be good creating conflict with his brother after all.

"There's a contingent to escort you both to the Land of Water." Madara switched topics as well, not even bothering to hide his displeasure and utter dismay on the matter. Naruto hummed, covering his eyes under his arms as he faced the ceiling, "I was with a girl yesterday, you know," Madara glanced at him from aside, eyebrow raised in intrigue. "Coincidentally, she was from the Land of Earth, a kunoichi no less." it was the elder brother's turn to hum in thought, gears churning frantically in his mind.

"You don't say." Madara muttered, trying to assess the situation as best as possible. This was why he kept repeating the fact that even in times of peace, shinobi must never sit lax - especially the elites. But did anyone pay heed to his words whenever he lectured - oh no - Idiots, the lot of them. "I think you should postpone your trip to the Fire Capital," Naruto suggested, yawning as sleep threatened to overtake his senses.

"I was thinking the same thing," Madara agreed. "...Maybe take a tour of this island or something." it was as lame an excuse as Madara could come up with in the spur of the moment. But it would have to do for now, "I've written a letter to the clan back in the Leaf. They'll be arriving here shortly with some more hands to help you out." Naruto commented, half asleep.

"Pray tell, what made you think I need a helping hand…?"

"It isn't you who'll need help, it's the people who'll get in your way."

"Ah."

"I told you not to go after Mū, it's all because of that stupid endeavor."

"He had it coming anyways, fools thinking themselves to be big enough-"

"Brother…" Naruto warned, still perfectly aware why he'd done that.

Madara had the decency to look sheepish, well as sheepish as a man like him could look - which wasn't much. He never was one to pull his punches other than the times when he was training his little brother. For anyone else caught in the cross fire, well they had Naruto's condolences.

Uchiha Madara withheld too great a reputation to offer apologies.

But still, that left one thing unanswered for the Uchiha Patriarch, "It's strange seeing you take Mito knowingly with you in the face of danger." Madara probed, honestly fascinated at this change in the state of affairs. If he knew his baby brother right, which he did, he would try and find as slick a way as possible to get his loved ones out of violence as was humanly possible.

Though seeing him unleash his full might was a sight to behold as well.

"I've got a plan, just made her agree on it just an hour ago."

"She doesn't seem like the understanding type to me and given the kind of plans you usually come up with…" Madara chimed in his own two cents.

"Oh, she isn't." Naruto laughed, "The back of my head still hurts."

Smirking, "Then what exactly is your plan if I may be inclined to ask…?" Madara asked the million dollar question, and so Naruto told him every little detail of his plans and the humongous amounts of information he'd managed to scour up these past few days. It came as no surprise to Madara though, given how widespread Naruto's web in the information world truly was.

Honestly, ignoring the intel and the fact that there were assassins ready to take out his daughter figure for a moment, Madara had to give props to Naruto. It was indeed a sneakily crafted arrangement on his part.

Let's just say the coming week was going to be an interesting one alright.

* * *

 _ **~~~Konohagakure no Sato~~~**_

* * *

"I told you this would happen!"

"Calm down,"

"No, you listen to me this time." Tobirama barked, "Didn't I tell you this would happen, that those blood eyed demons would rather stick a knife in our backs than shake a friendly hand…?" dark colored eyes flaming in anger, Tobirama was not in a good mood today. "Surely, you're overreacting brother…" Hashirama tried to be the smarted one this time.

"OVERREACTING…?!" Tobirama raised his voice, "Didn't you get the memo Hashirama?! The Uzumaki are no longer our allies - they're the Uchiha's allies now!" Tobirama nearly bit Hashirama's head off.

Sighing, "And the Uchiha's are allied to the Senju now. What will it take for you to get that point through that thick skull of yours!" Hashirama exasperated. "But the village sent that blasted Uchiha to betroth the heiress to the Senju…" Tobirama tried to protest, but was quickly but cut off by an irate Hashirama. "The heiress who just so happened to fall in love with Naruto of all people, not Madara - the clan head - mind you." he gave the white haired man a sharp look at the last part. Even Tobirama had to concede to that last point. But, that didn't mean he wasn't right though.

"How could she fall for him to go so far as to marry him - in a mere week no less! Don't you see brother, it's all a ploy to increase their clan's standing. Why don't you see reason…"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Hashirama roared, slamming his hand on the table as his patience finally ran thin. "Get out of here and cool off, we'll talk in the evening like sensible gentlemen and not like mindless buffoons holding onto past grudges." he admonished his brother who instantly shut up when Hashirama's intimidating chakra hit him full force affront.

Turning around without another word of protest, "You trust them too much, brother." Tobirama told him just as he opened the door. "No, you trust them too little brother." Hashirama smiled as the door clicked to a close. Walking down the halls of the administrative parts of the Hokage Tower as if the reaper himself was upon him, Tobirama spilled his killing intent all around as this new development in alliances left a bitter taste in his mouth. It had to have been Naruto of all people, the one person in their clan who had the most significant knowledge in the art of sealing.

Contrary to what his brother may believe, the fact that the heiress was being handed over to Naruto of all people was what had him worried the most. Had it been Madara, it would have been different. But, Naruto…

Just remembering the final battle that had gone down between their clans right before the formation of the the Leaf village still sent a shudder down his spine. The demon that hid behind the playful facade of that blasted blonde Uchiha still haunted Tobirama to this very day.

For everyone else, Uchiha Madara may be a force to be reckoned with. But for Tobirama, he knew how much of a threat Naruto truly was. If not for him, then the Uchiha would have sniveled under their feet by now and Madara would have been dead without a doubt. Still, even if he had somehow managed to force the heiress into marrying him, there were plenty of ways to make her see the light and just pluck her right off him.

Naruto's potential was often overlooked by everyone, even within his own clan oftentimes. Even Tobirama admitted that he had fallen prey to his act. When all his brethren had fallen prey at the hands of the Senju, Naruto had been the single thing standing between the whole might of the Senju clan invading the battle between clan heads at the Valley of the End.

That accursed blonde had held them off for an entire day all on his own!

Tobirama couldn't wait to make the heiress see reason. The true man hiding beneath that pretty face of his was no less than a demon, that unfaithful bastard of an Uchiha had too many flaws within him to keep her as his regardless. So much so that he may not even need to intervene.

It was only a matter of time before she realized it for herself.

* * *

 _ **~~~Uzushigakure no Sato~~~**_

* * *

Looking around, even as carefree a man as Naruto was he couldn't help but despise the jovial smiles and laughter ringing around the village. These people were so oblivious that it actually hurt him to believe that this was a shinobi village. Was this what his brother always talked about when he rambled on and on about ninjas getting lax in times of peace?

Could they actually not sense the subtle changes lifting in the air…?

Naive as he was, even he could feel it coming - something big, something ominous - and it's shadow would be looming upon this island soon enough. Yet here were it's residents, mostly civilians turned ninjas since the most prominent clan around here were the Uzumaki themselves, going around as if nothing of the sort was out of place. Vigilant eyes were upon every street as shinobi in packs of three blended into the crowd, ready for their orders to come and their stressed nerves to just snap.

Turning around the buildings, he jumped up over a shop's sun screen and hopped onto a ledge before taking to the roofs. Nodding to a red headed scouting team on the look out, he reciprocated the smile they offered with one of his own. At least they were really pure at heart, just like her.

That was certainly a bonus.

The blonde continued on his journey until reaching the training grounds he'd selected as their meeting spot for this very day. Low and behold, there she was, waiting for him under the shade of a tree and looking as mesmerizing as ever. "Morning!" Naruto chirped up in greeting, a distasteful frown pulling on his lips as Mito merely huffed in reply.

"Aw come on, you're still upset about that…?!"

"Of course I am, how dare you do that to me!"

"It's not that big of a deal, I'll take it off when we're done you know…"

"That's not the point!"

"Come on, I said I was sorry."

Faltering in her tirade, "I know. It's just that, you know…" Mito stammered woefully, her anger subsiding. "…that you love me?" Naruto suggested, grinning like the Cheshire cat as he knew what was coming next.

"Yeah, I love you but - HEY!"

Knowing full well she was tricked - again - Mito stomped her foot on the ground and turned around with an over-exaggerated huff. "Fine, be that way!" her stubborn stance melted considerably when a pair of arms wrapped her up and pulled her back to a firm chest. "Forgive me." Naruto whispered an apology, planting a gentle kiss on the back of head for added measure.

"...It's okay."

Mito's reply came more as a soft whine than it did as a statement, and Naruto chuckled knowing full well she hadn't intended to forgive him but had been forced to do so by his ever so subtle ministrations on her. "I'll take you on a trip after coming back from this, okay…?" Naruto told her, smiling when her head bobbed down as she started twiddling her toes in a nervous tick. "Father won't allow it." Mito told him.

Grinning, "He won't even know you were gone." Naruto retorted.

"...Stop being such a delinquent!"

"Mito, I really want to go with you…" he whispered, voice thick and husky. Mito knew what he really wanted to say, and she couldn't help but blush when he started nibbling away at her ear like a chipmunk. "…uh, sure." she finally conceded, biting her lip excitedly.

"But promise me you won't ever do such a thing again."

"Do what? If it's this…" he pinched her butt, eliciting a loud squeak from Mito's lips while she jumped up a bit in shock. "I'm not sure I can promise." Naruto confessed with a chuckle, wincing when she elbowed him in the ribs.

"No, just don't ever place any seals on me Naruto. You know how big of a taboo it is considered in my clan to do such a thing. Placing a seal - any seal - on someone's body is strictly forbidden. Plus, you did it without even telling me. If someone else had noticed it, I don't even know what might have happened to us." she whispered forlornly, honestly scared at the prospect of something as silly as this splitting them up forever.

"No one other than me can see where I've placed it." Naruto smiled, forcing his hand into her kimono to trace the inner part of her thigh he'd marked her a few days prior. During his last drunken visit to her house a week ago, Naruto had subtly placed a seal on Mito's thigh during their intense make-out session hoping beyond hopes that she won't notice. But she had, and she had flipped on him in an instant to the point of running him off while she threw any pointy thing at him that she could scour out within her reach. Rubbing her ticklish thighs with a giggle, "…Naruto, behave." she tried to paw away his hand and twisted around in his grip to crash her face in his chest, cheeks flushed to extreme redness.

Laughing, Naruto rubbed her arm and tucked her head under his chin. "You never denied that trip I mentioned you know." he said suggestively. Smiling, "Of course I didn't. I want to go too, it'll be like a honeymoon." her breathless whisper caught him off guard, before a serene smile mirrored on Naruto's face realizing he was so close to the day when they'd finally become one.

He would be hers while she'd be his to have as he desired.

It was getting frustratingly hard to keep his hands off of her anyways.

"It's getting late, let's go."

Mito's murmur forced Naruto to break his embrace and both took a moment to calm their breath down before making a walk to the entrance gates of the village. But unbeknownst to Naruto, Mito kept stealing glances at him every now and then whenever prying eyes weren't on her. He always walked to her right whenever they went around anywhere, it had always been this way ever since a carriage had almost soaked her during one of their late night outings a few days prior. More importantly, he always kept only one hand pocketed whenever they walked together which she knew was in hopes of her taking his free hand in her own anytime. She didn't really have courage enough to let everyone know about them so openly, so she hadn't done that quite just yet. It was embarrassing enough to even think about it, let alone do such a thing in public.

These sweet little things he unknowingly did for her were what pulled her to him the most. Even his little expedition of branding her with a seal had partly made her giddy when he'd explained just what that seal actually was and what it was capable of. Plus, he had promised to explain her it's intricacies later on seeing her hungry eyes at the prospect of learning a high level seal, Uzumaki's were weird that way, so all was well. Mito really did wish she had courage enough to take his hand and flaunt their relationship to everyone around her like most girls her age did. But she'd never really been so outgoing as to do such a shameful thing in front of everyone, always keeping to herself and staying immersed in her own little world ever since her little brother's untimely demise was something that had kept her sane through tough times.

Clenching her eyes shut, "Naruto…" Mito called out.

"Hm…?"

"…Stay by my side, okay." she whispered, sadness lacing every strand of her voice. Knowing not what had come over her, Naruto simply resigned to nod and closed the distance between them. "Just think about me whenever you need me, Mito. I promise you'll find me by your side in an instant." he assured her comfortingly, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear while she shied away from his touch on instincts alone with a dopey smile gracing her lips.

In that moment, Mito's blush could have lit entire cities for weeks.

* * *

They were waiting for the redheaded heiress's arrival for a while now, but all three of them stiffened up considerably when they saw an unexpected companion flanking her side. Just as the two reached within hearing distance to the team, "Morning, Lady Uzumaki." the ninjas from the Land of Water greeted, all three smiling tentatively.

Mito merely settled for a nod, not too keen on exchanging pleasantries with people she was essentially going to know for a wholesome of two days. Neither were they important enough in her eyes to earn a second glance on her part, "Who's this if I may be polite enough to ask…?" one of the Water ninja's questioned.

The Water Nation's contingent eyed the yawning blonde by her side apprehensively, clearly not too incisive on having him around for much longer. "He's my personal escort. I was told you allowed me to have one." Mito admonished them, quite unimpressed at this stupid rule of only allowing her one single escort.

Though, on the inside she couldn't be more pleased.

More alone time with Naruto was always a welcome.

But they didn't need to know that, and certainly not Naruto.

Make that especially not Naruto, his ego was inflated enough as it is.

"I'm Naruto, pleasure to make your acquaintance." Naruto pushed forth a friendly had for them to shake, which the stumped man took after a nudge from his squad mate to break free of his stupor. "O-Of course. Who doesn't know you? Pleasure's all mine." he smiled uneasily.

"You weren't expecting me to be here, were you…?" Naruto questioned when curiosity got the better of him, instantly getting three shake of heads from the trio. "Someone of your caliber on a simple escort mission, you know how surprising it is." they told him, nodding sagely.

"Yes, I completely understand." Naruto grinned at their nervousness, happy that they knew exactly who he was. "Fate works in mysterious ways." his aloof comment earned some incoherent murmurs from them.

Naruto took them as a 'yes' though.

"Shall we get going…?" Mito broke the ice once more, pointing to the ship behind the Water shinobi. "Of course, please." they made way for the heiress as she went over the board to enter the small ship and Naruto followed suit a couple of steps behind her. Just as they were getting out of sight;

"Uchiha Naruto's her escort! For fuck's sake, it would have been better not to place a limit on the number of her escorts she was to have if he was the one she'd have picked." one of the Water shinobi hissed petulantly, all three of them cursing their luck. Their leader, for the first time spoke up after he came back from unchaining the anchor and clapped his hands to garner their attention.

"It's nothing to be worried about, the mission still goes as planned. No matter who he is, he's just a single man. All this has done is hampered our mission by a few more days, but when we get ashore he'll be no problem." he reassured his team, who were hesitant to nod back.

"But are you sure man, I mean I've heard rumors of his strength…"

"That's what they are, just rumors." the leader slice their doubts in half. "He's one man, and when we make land again he'll be surrounded by our ninjas in an unknown terrain. There won't be anything he can do to prevent that outcome, an entire nation against one man, don't be ridiculous. Plus, think about the kind of money we'd get from the Daimyo for his head, even after a split we'd be loaded for good." the last part made most of his team's doubts vanish into thin air.

"Yeah, I guess you're right!"

Neither of them knew how true some rumors could be as they'd come to realize it in a few days from now.

* * *

 **A/N : There is the next chapter. Guess, I kinda went overboard with this one and loaded it with content. Going through it during editing I realized just how much plot I had essentially put into it, so take it as an apology for not updating Desert Flower as I'd promised.**

 **I tried to work on it, but frankly I have zero motivation for that story at the moment. Whatever I write isn't up to the mark so I never got around to finishing it, that's the only thing I can say about it for now.**

 **But hope y'all liked this one, I hit the double length mark with this one too so take that as you will, sorry for those who don't. Hope it wasn't too long for anyone. Plus, as you've seen from this chapter every small moment will be linked together in the upcoming chapters such as Naruto's intimate moment here with Mito, so keep an eye out for those little things since links will be quite prominent in this story.**

 **This is essentially a romantic fic, so action will be there but the emotional aspect will be more prominent throughout the story.**

 **I do remind you once more.**

 **Anyways, I've rambled on enough. Until next time, take care and keep reading and please do review. See y'all next time** **!**

 **Ja Ne ;D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Naruto : Remnants of the Past**

* * *

 **Uzushiogakure no Sato**

* * *

"Sir…?"

"..."

"Uhm, excuse me, sir…?"

"..."

The messenger's stance faltered slightly when he didn't get so much as a twitch from the stone-faced visage of an Uchiha sitting in front of him. Fingers crossed in front of his mouth, Madara's legs dangled by the edge of the wall, his eyes closed to savor the wisps of air that blew his hair to the side.

"They're here." he said to no one in particular, voice as calm as the sea. It had been three hours since he'd called the messenger to tell him this. Meanwhile, said messenger had been standing behind him like a valet, or a mutt, Madara did not know which for sure, but his patience had finally run thin.

"W-What…?!"

"Sound the alarms, the enemy's upon us."

He may have very well told him that it wasn't going to rain today in the same exact tone and the redhead standing behind him would have been none the wiser. Though the dangerous glare that Madara shot him with when the redhead didn't move his feet as he was told made him scurry away almost instantly.

Jumping down from the ledge, which was at least fifty meters high, Madara raised up a small cloud of dust when his feet met with the ground. For a moment he tried to shake off the buzz his legs had felt from the jump, before he straightened his knees and flexed his back, silently awaiting the inevitable battle to ensue. Thankfully, they seemed to be no pushovers, and judging from the way the skill with which they had been trying to hide and create a perimeter around the walls - for no less than three hours for now - they seemed to be well prepared as well.

Madara hadn't bothered letting the enemy know that they had been sensed the moment they were within his range - which was fairly large - since it would have been a shame to put a cut in their preparations. Uchiha Madara may be many things - but one thing he wasn't was a sensor. His brother more or less made up for this little niggle most of the time, but after a lifetime worth of combat, his instincts had been sharpened enough to feel even an ant's worth of killing intent pointed at him; much less the stupid amounts these fools were leaking.

They may very well have waved up a red flag shouting "We're here, come kill us, Madara-sama!" but he had digressed, for he was a patient man, and giving them ample amounts of time to make their preparations was just what a patient man should do. It wouldn't do him any good if his enemy was struck when they were unguarded and unprepared; plus, there was no need to take away a good battle in favor of a small wait, right?

So, being the patient man that he was, Madara had sat idly on this wall for hours and generously let the enemy have their time; but after three hours of continuous waiting, even his patience were running thin.

"May as well get the ball rolling," Madara said, clearly annoyed by the lack of uptake his enemies were proceeding with. His fingers twitched impatiently, and those honed senses of combat took over for a moment as a mad grin flashed over his lips.

He made the horse hand sign and whispered, **"Fire Style,"**

His chest expanded as he sharply inhaled, and Madara held it in for a moment to see if the enemy would finally take the initiative and man up before he unleashed a fiery hell upon them. When no response came, he began kneading chakra into heat, and blended it with the air that he had been holding in. Madara nearly sighed and soiled his technique when he still didn't see the enemy ruffle so much as a leaf around them; probably thinking he was training or something with a stupid single hand-sign technique.

" _Fools."_

Just as the siren for the invasion went off behind his back, Madara unleashed a literal sea of flames from his lips upon them, which were doused not a moment later with a blood curdling roar of pain and agony to announce the beginning of this war. Oh, this was going to be good; no, better yet, this was going to be bloody, Madara thought.

" **Great Fire Annihilation** **!"** he said.

The narrow stream of flames that had escaped his lips expanded and began spreading and engulfing nearly a mile's worth of fauna in front of him. The intense heat coupled with the sweet melodies of horrified screams almost made the hair on Madara's neck rise. He wanted go giddy and engage his enemies in a joyful dance of blades. Some of them had the mind to shoot out a defensive mud wall or something, but his flames began tearing them apart as if they were mere paper.

" _The hell was that?!"_

" _Call for reinforcements!"_

" _Tend to the wounded!"_

Amidst the chaos and frenzied shouts of orders, seven people - singed from head to toe - came forward with an intimidating press to their step. Madara's eyebrow rose up in slight amusement hearing the middle one speak up, "I'm going to kill you for that, you bastard!" It seemed as if there were some men among these kids - kids who had the gall to taunt him of all people - even after seeing the display of raw power he'd just exhibited.

"Oh~" Madara hummed with an amused smile, a tauntingly insidious smile, "Is that so?" he asked

"Don't mock us, do you even know who we are?" the middle one shouted.

"Well, not really, and to be honest, I couldn't care less." Madara said with a scoff.

Madara didn't a memory good enough to boast that he had the keenest of skills in remembering faces, but he generally went by the rule that if he didn't recall them on first sight, then they probably weren't worth remembering - the seven of them fell into the later, sadly.

Tilting his head aside in slight curiosity he asked, "Can you still dance…?"

His words struck them off guard, but Madara gave them ample time to recollect themselves - he was a patient man, after all.

"You dare mock us, the seven ninja swordsman of the mist?" the middle one shouted once more.

If possible, Madara leaned his head a little more to the side, "The seven what?" he asked.

As if struck by acid, "I'll make sure you remember us by the time we're done with you." another kid seethed, making Madara cross his arms and sigh, clearly bemused.

"Novices, " Madara sighed.

After a moment's deliberation, "Boy," Madara said to the one who had the gall to taunt him, "Tell you what, if you entertain me enough to make my eyes turn red, I may even let you live and go home." he offered kindly.

That certainly was a pleasant offer, was it not?

To fight him and stay alive to tell the tale; not many had the luck or the audacity to say the same. So, it clearly was a gratifying offer in his eyes; not in theirs, unfortunately.

The short tempered one in the middle finally lost it and charged at Madara with an outcry along the lines of, "I'll kill you!"

"No, don't do it jinin! He's no ordinary shinobi to charge at like that!" one of the more level headed comrades in his team tried to reason in vain. The one charging at Madara clearly was in a daze of adrenaline, and just as his weird origami-covered blade - yes, it was a blade covered in paper slips - made contact with Madara's war fan, a huge blast rocked the battlefield with an intensity that even surprised Madara to an extent - a minuscule extent - but it did surprise him nonetheless.

He would teach this boy how to go toe to toe with a veteran in due time. After all, as he had mentioned before, Uchiha Madara was a really kind and patient man. For the time being though, " **Uchiha Reflection!"** was the only thing he had to say to the child. Regrettably, yet another horrified scream mellowed in the screams from before; this one being from the child Madara had promised to let live. He hadn't expected a blast with a magnitude to kill someone from that funny looking blade else he's just have dodged it and let the child live.

That was unfortunate.

Oh well, onto the next one in need of a lesson, Madara thought.

* * *

"What kind of a monster is that?!"

No one had the answer to that question as almost an entire contingent of Uzumaki's lined up over the great wall of Uzushiogakure and watched Uchiha Madara wreak havoc on the battlefield below. Ashina Uzumaki himself was utterly speechless at the unrestrained freak of nature that was Uchiha Madara, tearing apart men and land alike as if he were a reaper of destruction.

Just what a hellish kind of a place had the mainlands become to birth a shinobi as hard boiled as, uh, him?

He was sure that at least one battalion of the enemy fighters were wiped out from that unprecedented declaration of war Madara had just announced after that violent stream of flames. Meanwhile, even now, Madara wasn't as serious in the battle as he should have been; that much, even Ashina could tell, if the joyful laughs he was hearing from the man below were any indication.

Had it not been for those dire screams erupting all around him, Ashina might have just jotted this down as a spar of sorts. If his memory served correctly, Madara had said that Naruto was supposed to be 'at least' on par with his elder brother's strength. But their fighting styles varied so distantly that almost everyone thought of Madara to be the one that was supposed to be feared.

Unlike his elder brother, who was a brute-force kind of a shinobi that destroyed almost anything in his path - be it living or otherwise - Naruto was a shinobi who tried as hard as possible to keep the damage to life and environment to a minimum as much as he possibly could.

Where Madara would tear, blow and chop his enemies up, Naruto's ways were supposed to be of a shinobi that kept himself discrete in the shadows; his ways were much more subtle if you will, much more precise. Suddenly, the thought of his daughter being engaged to such a dangerous man made this father's heart shake a little, if he were to be honest.

But as for the present situation, "Send in the Elite Squadron to lend Madara a hand. We're supposed to be shinobi, not spectators watching a battle!" Ashina's bark didn't even seem to make any of them move. Just as he was about to fire off some insults, "Sir, you see, Naruto-sama explicitly instructed us something before he left with Lady Mito."

As much as it pained him to ask, "What could that have been?" Ashina asked with a sigh, already having an inkling of a suspicion as to what he must have said.

Gulping thickly, "Well, he told us not to enter into a battle where his brother was, and I quote, enjoying himself. He said that Madara-sama wasn't one to differentiate a friend from foe during those moments…" Ryouta said nervously.

Ashina had to fidget a little from his right hand man's words. It wasn't right. This was supposed to be a fight for protecting their homeland, and the Uzumaki were the ones supposed to defend it. But seeing Madara's laughing form dancing around the battlefield like a crazed lunatic, slaughtering anything that came his way like cattle, he honestly didn't have the heart to go in and get in Madara's way himself; much less send one of his own men to see if Madara chopped his comrades up or not.

For the time being, "How long until this, well," Ashina faltered a little in his words when Madara slapped an exploding bomb over someone's chest and head, chopped them off, and sent them flying in opposite directions to kill a dozen more, before laughing as if he'd just made some sort of a joke on the enemy. "…trance, ends?" Ryouta supplied helpfully, cringing from the screams echoing in the distance.

"How long does this trance last?" Ashina repeated queasily.

"Naruto-sama told us that until his blood-lust was sated, Madara-sama won't stop."

Well that was unsettling to say the least. It seemed like the Uzumaki clan had a while to wait before they could enter the battle for themselves. All of them, Ashina included, had only one thought in mind for now.

It was a good thing that Uchiha Madara was on their side.

* * *

 _ **~~~Kirigakure no Sato~~~**_

* * *

The journey from her home to the Land of Water had been rather plain if Mito were to be honest. But I wasn't like she had a problem with that, opposite infact - she was glad there had been no problems on her first trip to a foreign land. For all the niceties she could note, thinking about her companion made her forget all of it while a small weight would settle in her stomach.

Naruto, for all his implied obliviousness, had been rather distant to her during the the whole journey. There were no sly winks, subtle touches or even so much as a smile shot her way. Mito rubbed her arm unconsciously when her eye turned over her shoulder to see Naruto walking steadfastly behind her like a shadow - a shadow she could see but not touch. For all the time she had known Naruto - which wasn't much, Mito knew - she hadn't seen him look this cold and indifferent to her presence.

Whenever he was around her, he was playful, a shameless tease who bothered her to death, and a pervert who's hands moved way too smoothly for her comfort. But now that she wasn't his center of attention, Mito noticed how attached she had grown to him and his silly quirks and she loathed it with all her being.

"We should stop for a few minutes to rest and re-hydrate." Naruto said.

Mito nodded mutely and threw one leg over the other as she sat on a boulder. She shot Naruto with an irritated look when he tossed a canteen at her without even looking and started checking the small pack she had been carrying for some supplies. He threw an energy bar her way which made her fumble the canteen in her palms and drop it.

"Tsk, clumsy girl." Naruto admonished her lightly.

He picked up the empty bottle she had dropped and started walking out the clearing to look for some more water after giving a soft tap to her nose to further add some humiliation over her already riled up state. Mito fumed silently and threw the energy bar in his direction with a huff, but it never made any contact since Naruto had flashed out of her view before she had even thrown it.

He hadn't so much as looked at her the whole time they'd been off the ship, the nerve of him! To think she had been excited that they'd have some quality time when they weren't under anyone's radar was an understatement, Mito had been elated beyond belief when she'd come to know that Naruto of all people had been chosen as her escort.

Mito blinked in surprise seeing a busyness of ferrets run out from the bushes to munch on the energy bar she had just thrown at Naruto's back, and watched in interest when they started sniffing around for some more food. Mito fetched a few raisins she always kept hidden in her sleeve pockets and lowered her palm to see if they'd trust her enough to let her feed them, and indeed they did, as soon as the scent of raisins reached their noses they were all over her palm in an instant.

When they were done nibbling the treats from her palm, the ferrets climbed all over her arms and back and one of them even made made himself home on her head. This was the scene Naruto walked into - with Mito covered head to toe with little balls of fur which he assumed were ferrets that were in abundance to this habitat. His lips quirked up seeing her laugh like a child when a couple of those ferrets started sniffing on her toes.

Mito mirrored his smile when she saw him looking at her fondly, having finally become interesting enough to garner his attention. Naruto walked closer and rubbed a ferret's chin, before smoothly moving his finger to her cheek and tracing her lips. Mito's ears heated up from his touch, and she instantly ducked her head down to avoid looking into his eyes.

"What's that, Naruto?" she asked.

Naruto followed her eyes and saw a small red blotch on his shirt. He frowned and soaked it in some water to prevent it from staining. "Must have caught it in the woods ," he said and Mito nodded, not thinking such a small stain wasn't enough to worry her about him. Naruto took the ferrets down from her body and shooed them into the bushes.

Before she could sound a word of protest for running away her furry little friends, Naruto shut her up by saying, "Let's go, the sun will set in a couple of hours." and so, Mito pursed her lips for the time being and they went back to the routine of Naruto being his oblivious and indifferent self while Mito kept pouting and sulking from the lack of attention she was being showered with.

It was the second day of them walking after the escorts from the Land of Water had split from them, and Mito still had another day of silent walking to look forward to. But she was very much looking forward to the night, where they'd share a sleeping back and she'd cuddle with him as if there was no tomorrow.

Mito was still left wondering as to why the forest was so silent when, from what she'd read in her village's library, Mist was supposed to be full of wildlife and all she'd seen were a few ferrets?

Were they scared of her or something?

* * *

 **A/N : Apologies for the delay in updates and the length of this chapter, but this chapter had been lying as a rough draft on my computer for nearly a month now and I never got around to finish editing it. It was always supposed to focus on Madara, a bit more than I ended up doing so I'm not even gonna lie, but I thought it was best to just polish up the three scenes I had written and get it published for an update rather than forcing myself to write a halfhearted full-length chapter that readers may have a problem with.**

 **I hope you all like it enough to at least read it, if not, you're welcome to leave all your negative feedback in a review and send it my way - I won't mind it, honest. Well, I've rambled enough, until next time, keep reading and reviewing!**

 **Ja Ne! ;D**


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